J. Milton Adams, who has served as the University’s vice provost for academic programs since 2003, became its inaugural senior vice provost last week as part of a strategic planning initiative aimed at tackling the challenges of higher education.
In a letter to President Teresa A. Sullivan earlier this week, Board of Visitors members Frank Atkinson and Linwood Rose addressed long-term concerns about the University’s strength, including the retention of distinguished faculty, the maintenance of affordable and accessible academic programs and decisions about how technology could be used to simultaneously lower costs and enhance quality of instruction. Atkinson and Rose are co-chairs of the Board’s Special Committee on Strategic Planning,
Adams said the initial focus of his position would be to coordinate the University’s strategic planning process.
“My job will be coordinating that process and moving it along and making sure that people who are interested [in promoting the University’s advancement] have that opportunity,” Adams said, noting he would appeal to faculty, students and alumni in the future for ideas to ensure the University continue in the correct direction.
John Simon, the executive vice president and provost, recommended Adams for the new position.
“Milton Adams has a track record of success in various posts at the University, both in his role as an administrator and as a member of the faculty,” Simon wrote in an email Thursday. “He is also well respected and trusted by the various constituencies of our University and is known for getting the job done well.” Adams also served as the interim provost for six months prior to Simon’s hiring, per Sullivan’s selection.
The new position and the University’s entire development of strategy has been informed by Sullivan’s multi-year goals presented two years ago at the onset of her term as president. Since Sullivan’s attempted ouster in June, conversations about the University’s direction have increased dramatically.
Reporting to the president and provost, Adams will coordinate and guide strategic planning, assist in the setting of academic priorities and work to implement the strategies developed, Simon said.
Sullivan said the appointment will ensure continuity, and Simon said it will ensure the strategic plans developed do not get shelved, ignored or outdated. Instead, he said Adams will be able to foster continual development. “I have been working this year at building a team in the Provost office, rather than have individuals who are solely responsible for a specific area of activity,” he said.
Adams soon will be working closely with a University consultant who will review the school’s institutional standing as part of an assessment of the competitive planning environment, Simon said, adding, “this will provide the foundation upon which the institution will develop its strategy.”
In accordance with his new responsibilities, Adams will receive a 10 percent increase in salary. The provost has begun the process of establishing a search committee for his replacement.
Adams vowed to empower faculty and students with the opportunities to share their ideas with him. “It’s about how do we, as a place where great scholars, researchers, get together and teach students… how do we think about what we should be teaching and what we should be learning.”
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