Provost Search Committee names finalists
(Williamsburg, VA) - The Provost Search Committee announced three finalists selected in their nation-wide search to fill the post of William and Mary’s chief academic officer.
William and Mary President Taylor Reveley appointed the committee early last October after current Provost P. Geoffrey Feiss said he is retiring June 30, 2009 following more than five years as provost and a decade of service to the university. Committee co-chairs, Kathleen Slevin, Chancellor Professor of Sociology and Ronald Sims, Gottwald Professor of Business head the selection committee composed of faculty, students and administrators.
The candidates, who will each make a two-day visit to the Williamsburg campus in February, are Tom Apple, dean of arts and sciences, University of Delaware; Michael R. Halleran, dean of the college of arts and sciences, University of Miami; and Havidan Rodriguez, vice-provost for academic affairs and international programs, University of Delaware.
“The search committee has worked long and hard over several months to narrow a strong pool of potential candidates to this small number. We have invited three excellent candidates to visit campus in the month ahead. Each will meet with a very wide spectrum of colleagues. The committee looks forward to the visits and to receiving comments from our colleagues on the candidates,” said co-chairs Kathleen Slevin and Ronald Sims.
The William and Mary provost reports directly to the president of the College and serves as the senior administrative and chief academic officer of the College. The provost is responsible, jointly with the vice-president of finance, for budgetary planning. The post is also responsible for all academic and research programs, academic budgets, institutional planning, space allocation and faculty development. Other responsibilities include overseeing research activities on campus, as well as the offices of undergraduate admissions, the registrar and the College’s chief information officer. In addition, all deans and a number of directors at the university report to the provost.
The three finalists’ complete CVs are also available online through the search committee’s site at www.wm.edu/provostsearch. Brief bio information is below:
- Tom Apple. Apple has been dean of arts and sciences at the University of Delaware since 2005. Prior to his time there, he held several academic posts at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, including interim vice-provost for institute diversity. Apple holds a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Delaware, a discipline – along with biochemistry – he continues to teach there.
- Michael R. Halleran. Halleran, a classics scholar, went to the University of Miami in 2005 to serve as dean of the college of arts and sciences. Prior to that, he had been at the University of Washington since 1981, serving last as the divisional dean of arts and humanities. He holds a Ph.D. from Harvard University.
- Havidan Rodriguez. Rodriguez has served as the vice-provost for academic affairs and international programs at the University of Delaware since 2006. He came to Delaware in 2003 from the University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez where he held numerous administrative and academic posts including director of the Center for Applied Social Research and interim dean for academic affairs. Rodriguez holds a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
While on campus, the candidates will meet privately with a number of small groups across campus as well as participate in campus-wide faculty forums. The search committee is working toward a recommendation to the president by April 2009.
Additional information about the Provost Search Committee is available on their web site. For questions contact the search committee via email at provostsearch@wm.edu.
