Dean of the Honors College to become next IU provost

Karen Hanson, dean of the Hutton Honors College, will be IU’s first permanent provost once she is approved by the IU board of trustees. Hanson’s appointment ends a summer-long search for the first permanent provost, and Bloomington’s first such leader since Sharon Brehm stepped down from her chancellery in 2003. \nShe was personally appointed by IU President Michael McRobbie, who last held the position of provost on an interim basis. Hanson will also serve as the executive vice president for the Bloomington campus, according to an IU press release. \nHanson, who also previously served as chair of the philosophy department from 1997 until 2002, said she is honored by the appointment.\n“I’m grateful for the opportunity to serve the campus in this way,” Hanson said. “I was very pleased to here it, and I’m appreciative of the confidence the president is showing me.”\nHanson will be the chief academic officer for the University. The provost oversees academic and budgetary concerns to ensure that the needs of students and faculty are receiving ample opportunity to succeed. Hanson will also be responsible for making sure such parties meet University standards for education. \nResearch, faculty promotion and tenure and student recruitment and retention all fall under Hanson’s purview, and each dean on campus reports to the her. \nHanson said she hopes to leave her mark as IU’s first permanent chief academic officer.\n“This is the first permanent provost, and the position is a little bit undefined as we go forward,” Hanson said. “I expect to make my contribution to delineating the position.”\nBloomington Chancellor Ken Gros Louis gave Hanson a glowing endorsement.\n“I think she is just a terrific choice,” Gros Louis said. “(Hanson will do) a marvelous job. I think Michael (McRobbie) made a great choice.”\nIU law professor and chair of the provost search committee Fred Cate said he “could not be more delighted” at Hanson’s appointment. Cate said he believes Hanson was a somewhat unexpected selection, but the thorough and measured steps taken throughout the search process revealed her as the best candidate.\n“This is exactly the kind of candidate who I do not think people thought about, and so the search proved worthwhile,” Cate said.\nCate has called the provost’s job a “nearly impossible” one throughout the search because of the vast and varied requirements of the office, such as the appointment of deans, the handling of day-to-day academic affairs and the role of the second most influential administrator on campus. He said Hanson’s “long track record” at IU will enable her to fulfill these duties with success from her first day on the job, something he thinks McRobbie will find useful. \n“She brings a breadth of experience inside the campus that I think be valuable to (McRobbie),” Cate said.\nGros Louis said he has known Hanson for many years and believes she is a strong choice for the provost position because of her familiarity with academic units across the Bloomington campus stemming from her time as dean of the Honors College. In that position, she worked with deans across campus to set up programs for students to take classes in their particular fields of study through the Honors College.\nGros Louis also said he believes Hanson will be accessible to students, a trait many think IU administration has been lacking recently. \n“Everything I’ve known of her ... She’s been very visible on campus in many ways,” Gros Louis said. “(Hanson is) someone who knows the campus and the faculty very well, and is very student oriented.”\nLisa Pratt, a professor in the Department of Geological Sciences, a member of the provost search committee and the Bloomington Faculty Council president, said she is “very pleased” at Hanson’s appointment. She said the provost must strike a delicate balance between the needs of the Bloomington campus and those of other IU campuses, a task she believes Hanson can handle. \nHanson herself also recognizes this challenge.\n“I do want to be an advocate for the Bloomington campus,” Hanson said, “but I also want to work cooperatively with the other campuses in matters of common concern.”\nPratt said she believes students will be equally pleased with the selection.\n“I hope the student community will feel a real sense of empowerment and excitement,” Pratt said. “I think she will understand what students expect from their college experience.”\nHanson said she plans to make a point of being accessible to students, something she’s tried to do in her time as a faculty member and administrator at IU.\n“I’ve taught here and enjoyed teaching for a very long time,” Hanson said. “I expect to seek out the student perspective on all kinds of matters, so I assume I would continue (to be accessible).”\nGros Louis said he believes Hanson will have to deal with general education requirements immediately after taking office. The already-approved change in curriculum, which would impose campus-wide general education requirements for all students to fulfill, is a project that carries over from former president Adam Herbert’s term. \nHanson recognized the need to implement those requirements. \n“I’m interested in the problems of implementing the general education guidelines that have been passed,” Hanson said.\nGros Louis also said Hanson will need to work with the Bloomington Faculty Council, McRobbie and the rest of the faculty and administration to replace several outgoing or already-departed administrators and deans.\nCate said Hanson already has a record of accomplishing goals within the University, making her an attractive candidate.\n“There are a lot of things we would expect any new provost to say,” Cate said, “but (Hanson’s) done a lot of those things.”\nGros Louis said he believes Hanson and McRobbie complement each other well, and he also believes their appointments signal a time of great potential for IU. \nHanson said she is looking forward to being provost, but emphasized that she was just one piece of the IU administration, and that she would not try to do her job without the input of the entire University community.\n“There are contributions I think students, staff and faculty can make,” Hanson said. “This isn’t going to be a one person operation. ... We are all in this together.”