As The Xavierite News Section continues its coverage of finding Saint Xavier University’s next Provost, there is much at stake for campus community members.
Beginning Oct. 13, SXU President Laurie M. Joyner, Ph.D., announced in her email that the university would officially be moving forward with their Provost Search Selection.
Joyner stated this news after informing people that former Interim Provost Michael Marsden, Ph.D., has plans to leave Saint Xavier and no longer serve his position.
However, a question that stirs up plenty of confusion for students is, what is indeed a Provost?
According to a source from the University of Michigan Office of the Provost, “The Provost is the university’s chief academic officer and has responsibility for the University’s academic and budgetary affairs.”
In addition, the Provost is often in charge of collaborating with the President [of the institution] in setting overall priorities for the University. They especially obtain specific duties, like “allocating funds to carry these priorities forward.”
On another note, community members are also wondering, what is a search committee?
According to the Office of Human Resources at the University of Minnesota, “is a group of people formed to help the responsible administrator recruit and screen candidates for a posted academic position.”
The university administrators use this “as a practical way to harness the large amount of reviewing applicants,” offering flexibility and the benefit of multiple perspectives. Throughout the process, members of the committee are also responsible for managing the University’s data privacy obligations.
If the committee members are choosing a Provost, what is the next step forward? Our News Section Team looked into what the university has already been sorting out so far.
In an interview conducted via email on Nov. 3, Daniel “Dan” P. Klotzbach, CFO and Vice President (VP) for Finance & Administration, gave an overview of the Provost process.
Klotzbach stated, “We have engaged the services of a search consultant, Academic Search Consultants, to help us in the search process,” adding, “The search committee met with the consultants a week ago, after the consultants had met with various campus constituencies the prior week.”
On Oct. 13, the university chose two co-chairs, Klotzbach being one of them. He will now serve a crucial role in the process, too. Klotzbach said, “One is a faculty member and the other a non-staff member (staff or administrator)” will be selected for these particular types of searches.
The co-chairs’ role is to “help coordinate the search process and serve as spokespersons for the committee,” as Klotzbach reveals that “it is important for both faculty and non-faculty to provide input and guidance to the search.”
For SXU, the best qualified Provost who replaces Mardsen would represent how the university prospers. Their leadership role is based solely on what they contribute to the growth of programs.
These programs include but are not limited to student needs and support, such as financial aid assistance or funding for clubs, extracurricular activities, and organizations.
However, with a search committee involved, some students do not know how these members will formally undergo the search process with transparency or whether seeking a Provost at the university will be effective.
Joclyn Ordonez, a Sophomore Nursing Major, was not ‘very familiar’ with what a Provost is initially. Since receiving this news from Joyner, she thinks “it is someone part of the administrative committee.”
On the other hand, Natalia Lopez, a First-Year Elementary Education student, believes that a Provost is someone “like a principal” who looks over the entire school and education.
She also explained the different expectations that would suffice if a strong candidate took Marsden’s place, like addressing the issue of a lack of room for improvement.
Both students described how vital the candidacy is and how the ideal Provost should execute their duties.
Ordonez hopes that person is mindful of being ‘very inclusive,’ which means they should think of “the diversities between students and finding ways to include everyone,” she said.
“A Provost should be able to talk to faculty to come up with ideas to how students can succeed in classrooms, along with them talking to students to see how the faculty can help them academically,” said Lopez.
She continued: “As for qualities, they should show leadership skills and also have good communication skills with everyone.”
For the welfare of the university and its students, the new Provost, “in line with our mission,” will potentially “work with the faculty to advance the initiatives and goals outlined in the Strive 25 Strategic Plan,” Klotzbach mentioned.
He continued: “The Search Committee and Consultants will select the top semi-finalists for Zoom interviews,” further noting that, “After those interviews, we will select the top few candidates for an on-campus interview early next year.”
Students, Faculty, and staff may reference [an Open and Academic Search] profile that the university committee members have developed. The position will be advertised through Dec. 15.
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