Eric Jensen named Provost at Hamline University

Hamline University is pleased to announce that it has named Dr. Eric R. Jensen as its provost. In this role, Jensen will serve as chief academic officer of the university, providing leadership through the establishment of academic priorities, the support of existing and the development of new innovative academic programs, and the supervision of our academic deans. He will be responsible for the undergraduate and graduate student experience. Jensen will begin his new duties as provost on July 1, 2012.
As provost, Jensen will supervise the dean of students and the athletic director and oversee the libraries and the international and diversity programs at the university.  He is also charged with implementation of the academic and student aspects of the university’s strategic plan. Dr. Jensen will be responsible for the development of a budget that supports the university’s academic priorities and attends to the needs of the university as a whole.
"Dr. Jensen's extensive background in higher education as a professor of economics, as an innovative leader of a nationally-recognized public policy program, and as a gifted administrator will advance our vision as a diverse and learning centered university,” Hamline President Linda Hanson said. “Hamline will benefit from his interdisciplinary experience and record of entrepreneurial success. I am confident he will engage meaningfully in our community."

Dr. Jensen comes to Hamline from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, where he has spent the past eight years serving as director of the Thomas Jefferson Program in Public Policy. There, he has been responsible for recruiting and cultivating donors, creating and implementing programmatic and curricular innovations, maintaining a 30-plus member external board of advisors, and managing relationships with government agencies, nonprofits, and private firms on a range of policy-relevant projects.

Prior to that, he spent 22 years as professor of economics and public policy at the College of William and Mary. He has published extensively in scholarly journals, has been successful in obtaining grants and other funding for various aspects of his research, and has served on several national boards and committees. He has a PhD in economics from the University of Michigan and a BBA in economics from the University of Miami.

“I look forward to working with the outstanding faculty and staff at Hamline, and I am eager to join this vibrant university community,” Jensen said, regarding his new role. “Hamline is both familiar, in its committed focus to undergraduate education and targeted graduate programs, and new, in its innovative and nimble nature.”