The University's search for a new provost is progressing, as the Board of Visitors' advising committee and a faculty advising committee plan to begin conversations with potential candidates in the next week.
The University has been preparing to hire a new provost since December, when Provost Gene Block accepted the position of chancellor at the University of California, Los Angeles.
The process of hiring a new provost will follow the official guidelines set forth by the Office of Equal Opportunity and Human Resources, according to University President John T. Casteen, III.
"We solicited and received nominations and advice from faculty and others, and we have sought and identified a large field of fully qualified candidates internally and outside the University," Casteen stated in an e-mail.
"I think [the candidate] must be a successful academic who has good academic taste and is also a good listener and collaborative," Block said.
The provost acts as the University's chief academic officer, according to Block. The provost supervises all academic programs, approves new programs, handles budgeting for the University's 10 schools and oversees the University's press, registrar and libraries.
The Board's advisory committee -- composed of Rector Thomas Farrell, Vice Rector W. Heywood Fralin and Educational Policy Committee Chair Glynn Key -- oversees aspects of leadership transitions that affect the Board directly, according to Casteen.
Yet both Farrell and Fralin stressed the fact that the decision is ultimately the president's, and it is his choice to decide whether to use the Board's advice.
"The president is hiring the provost; we are simply acting as an advisory committee," Farrell said.
Letters will be mailed soon to invite faculty members to join the faculty advisory committee, according to University spokesperson Carol Wood. Faculty members will become increasingly involved in the search in the next two to three weeks as face-to-face interviews begin, Casteen stated.
According to Casteen, the University plans to reach a decision by mid-April, before the search process for the new College dean is expected to select its final candidate.
"For now, the goal seems attainable, although scheduling what will be a large number of next-round interviews is a challenge," Casteen stated.
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