Next provost will work to be more accessible to student body on campus

IU President Michael McRobbie named Karen Hanson, dean of the Hutton Honors College, the next IU provost at a time when criticism of the administration’s lack of openness and visibility, especially to students, is spreading through various sectors of the University. \nHanson has a strong chance of being asked to be more accessible to students than previous administrators, given her role as the chief academic officer of IU and the second-most important administrator on campus. \nBloomington Chancellor Gros Louis said he believes Hanson will be accessible to students. \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 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).”\nFred Cate, IU law professor and chairman of the provost search committee, said Hanson is “insightful” about student issues.\n“She’s been involved with students in lots of ways,” Cate said. “ ... She lives and breaths student concerns.”