Bloomington Herald-Times
June 5, 2007
Five in running for IU Bloomington provost position; Officials expect job to be filled by time McRobbie takes over as IU president
By Steve Hinnefeld
June 5, 2007
Five current or former Indiana University administrators are candidates for the position of IU Bloomington provost, and officials expect the job to be filled within the next month.
According to sources familiar with the provost search, the candidates are:
-- Gerardo Gonzalez, dean of the School of Education.
-- Karen Hanson, dean of the Hutton Honors College and a professor of philosophy.
-- Lauren Robel, dean of the School of Law in Bloomington.
-- Jeanne Sept, dean of the faculties and an anthropology professor.
-- David Zaret, former interim dean and associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and a sociology professor.
The provost search committee began interviewing candidates last week and will continue to interview until Thursday, said Fred Cate, a law professor who chairs the committee. Cate would not identify the candidates.
The committee will recommend two or three finalists late this week to Michael McRobbie, the Indiana University president-elect, who will select the provost, the chief academic officer for the campus.
McRobbie, who has been interim provost for the past year and a half, will take over as university president from Adam Herbert on July 1. He appointed the 11-member search committee in early May and called for an internal IU search to fill the position promptly.
"He wants someone in place (as provost) by July 2," Cate said.
In addition to interviewing with the steering committee, candidates are meeting with faculty, staff and student groups, university vice presidents, deans and policy committees of academic schools and directors of research centers.
IU trustees created the position of IU Bloomington provost and vice president for academic affairs in January 2006, replacing the former position of Bloomington chancellor and university vice president.
According to a call for candidates, the provost will report to the president and be responsible for securing funding for research and scholarship, recruiting and retaining faculty, leading globalization efforts, improving student quality, managing academic personnel decisions and improving "diversity, humanity and accessibility." Deans of Bloomington-based academic schools, offices and programs will report to the provost.
Cate said the interviews and meetings have been partly about gaining a better understanding of the provost position and how it will complement the way McRobbie approaches being president.
"I think anyone who knows Michael knows he's probably going to redefine the presidency," he said.
