Message: Provost search committee announced

Dear Colleagues,

A few weeks ago, we learned that Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Jeffrey Vitter will be leaving us at the end of the semester to become Chancellor at the University of Mississippi. I am writing today to announce we have established the search committee that will lead our efforts to identify our next provost.

Steve Warren, professor and investigator in the Life Span Institute, has graciously agreed to chair this committee. The committee will utilize the services of search executive Bill Funk, whose firm — R. William Funk and Associates — has assisted us with numerous successful searches in the past.

The search committee will have its first meeting in early December. National advertisements for the position have been placed.

This is an exciting and important search for the University of Kansas. We have made great progress implementing our strategic plan, Bold Aspirations, and will look to our new provost to continue that progress. I am confident this position will attract top candidates from across the country, which is a testament to the work you are doing as faculty and staff to make KU a top-tier public research university. For that, I thank you.

Sincerely,

Bernadette Gray-Little
Chancellor

Provost search committee members

Steve Warren (Committee Chair)
Professor, Life Span Institute

Michael Branicky
Dean, School of Engineering

Tammara Durham
Vice Provost, Student Affairs

John Ferraro
Chair, Speech Language Hearing (KU Medical Center)

Joshua Hackathorn
Steamfitter, Facilities Services

Aleah Henderson
Doctoral Student, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology

Kissan Joseph
Professor, School of Business

Paul Kelton
Associate Dean for the Humanities, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences

Mechele Leon
Chair, Theatre

Julie Loats
Director, Center for Online & Distance Learning

Susan Lunte
Distinguished Professor, Chemistry

Jessie Pringle
Student Body President