On-campus interviews with candidates for the position of Tech’s provost and vice president of academic affairs conclude on Friday, with a final selection expected by the end of the month.
A 16-member search committee selected five finalists after initially reviewing 69 candidates and narrowing those candidates to 12. Committee members interviewed those candidates in Nashville before naming the finalists.
“We’ve looked at some truly excellent candidates, and we’ve had a situation where we could put together a pool of extremely qualified and diverse candidates,” said Dr. Liz Mullens, co-chair of the search committee.
The search committee is co-chaired by Mullens, dean of the College of Agriculture and Human Ecology, and Dr. Paul Semmes, dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, and is comprised of representatives from most of the colleges and other departments in academic affairs. SGA president Rachel Martin is the student representative on the committee.
Mullens said she hopes students will actively follow and participate in the search for the new provost. Students have had the chance to attend open lunch forums that allowed them to question and interact with the finalists. Also, students can visit the provost website to fill out a survey the committee members may use.
“The provost is a position that touches everybody on campus regardless of where you are and what you do because this is the person who makes decisions about academics and who provides some leadership,” Mullens said.
The finalists are:
- Dr. Jeanette Altarriba currently acts the vice provost and dean for undergraduate education at the University at Albany, State University of New York. Altarriba has her doctorate in cognitive psychology.
- Dr. Lori Mann Bruce currently acts as the associate vice president for academic affairs and dean of the graduate school at Mississippi State University. Bruce has her doctorate in electrical and computer engineering.
- Dr. Lesia Crumpton-Young currently acts as vice president for research and Institutional advancement and chief research officer at Tennessee State University. Crumpton-Young has her doctorate in philosophy in industrial engineering.
- Dr. Charles A. McAdams currently acts as the provost and vice president for academic affairs at Delta State University. McAdams has his doctorate in musical education.
- Dr. Mark Stephens currently acts as the interim provost and vice president for academic affairs at Tech. He is also the senior associate provost and dean of the College of Graduate Studies at Tech. Stephens has a doctorate in economics.
Students have one more chance to meet a candidate for provost during a forum scheduled Thursday, February 8 at noon in the Tech Pride Room.
The forum is being sponsored by the Student Government Association.
“We are doing provost search forums to make sure students are informed on who is being interviewed. The provost deals with students and we want to make sure the students are pleased with who is going to be hired,” Mason Hilliard, secretary of internal affairs, said.
Thursday’s forum is scheduled from 12-12:40 p.m. in the Tech Pride Room at RUC. Forums are scheduled to last 40 minutes. About 20 people have been attending the forums featuring four other finalists for the position.
Complimentary pizza will be served at the forums.
For more information on the candidates, refer to the provost and vice president for academic affairs’ page on TTU’s website. There is a candidate feedback survey online, their itineraries and the letters they wrote to the committee.
