Provost Finalists Visit Campus

Four candidates for provost will participate in on-campus interviews beginning next week. The process will include meetings with administrative and academic leaders. Candidates will also give a public presentation to the campus community, followed by a question-and-answer session. These will be made available via streaming audio after each session for those unable to attend.

The finalists, in order of their visit to NMU, are: Jeffrey Koep, dean of the College of Fine Arts at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, Monday, Jan. 22; Dee Hopkins, dean of the College of Education at Texas

A & M University-Corpus Christi, Friday, Jan. 26; Robert Sheehan, interim provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at the University of Toledo, Monday, Jan. 29; and Susan Koch, dean of the Graduate College and associate provost at the University of Northern Iowa, Wednesday, Jan. 31.

The open forums will be held at 4 p.m. on each date in the University Center. Hopkins’ presentation is in the Peter White Lounge and the remaining three are in the Nicolet/Cadillac Rooms.

Koep has served as a UNLV dean since 1995. His college includes the departments of art, theater, dance, film and music; the school of architecture; a gerontology program; and a performing arts center. During his tenure, the enrollment in the college has grown from less than 1,000 to more than 2,700. The number of faculty and staff has doubled. Koep has led the college in strategic planning, established 10 new degree programs and a College Advisory Board, founded the UNLV/Nevada “Artist/Entertainer Hall of Fame,” created more than 50 partnerships with community entities and established a number of international programs. He is the co-founder of a unique program in entertainment engineering that will begin in the fall. 

Hopkins has 10 years of experience as a college dean. At Texas A & M-Corpus Christi, she oversees a college of 2,400 students and more than 60 tenure-track faculty. She also provides oversight for a dual-language, campus laboratory school for children from the age of three through fifth grade; an arts and education center located in a Corpus Christi barrio that provides art programs, counseling and literacy assistance for at-risk youth and their families; and an early college/high school partnership funded by the Gates and Dell foundations. Hopkins focused college research by establishing the Center for Educational Development, Evaluation and Research. She also initiated a transition-to-teaching program for a downsized industry workforce.

As interim provost at the University of Toledo, Sheehan oversees a budget of about $210 million and more than 700 tenured and tenure-track faculty. His responsibilities also include university and discipline accreditations. Sheehan was the primary author of the university’s 2003 strategic plan and its 2004 assessment plan. In his previous post as senior vice provost, he was the university’s chief academic planner. He has been charged with ensuring connections between planning efforts related to enrollment, facilities, technology and fiscal issues. Sheehan’s academic specialties include assessment, statistics, research methodology and policy-oriented research in education. He has led the effort to develop a close working relationship between the university and the Toledo Public School District.

As graduate dean, Koch is responsible for the administration of 70 graduate programs; oversight of the graduate college budget and personnel; graduate strategic planning, policies and procedures; student services; development; and alumni relations for graduate education. As associate provost, she is responsible for budget and personnel for the university's summer school, honors program, office of academic assessment, administrative fellows program and the center for the enhancement of teaching. She oversees the undergraduate and graduate curricula, academic policies and procedures, program review, institutional accreditation and general education. Koch works directly with the provost to administer a division budget of $117 million and to oversee and evaluate an instructional staff of 829, including 590 tenure and tenure-track faculty.

Expanded vitae and schedules, along with streaming audio from each forum, will be available at Provost. Electronic feedback forms for each candidate are available at Feedback.

“We will also have forms available at the open forums,” said Darlene Walch (Academic Information Services), co-chair of the search committee. “We ask that they be completed by 5 p.m. Feb. 1. The committee is scheduled to meet Feb. 5 to provide its recommendation to President Wong. We don’t want to delay it because some of the candidates are involved in other searches.”