2 vacant vice provost positions to be filled for spring semester

Students at IU might have to call some of their professors by a different title.

Karen Hanson, IU provost, announced Thursday that the positions of vice provost for faculty and academic affairs and vice provost for undergraduate education are now available for faculty within the University wishing to apply.

The provost of the University reports directly to the IU president and serves as the main academic officer at IU. Vice provosts act as intermediaries for the provost and help manage some of the provost’s responsibilities. Vice provost for research and vice provost for enrollment management are examples of such positions.

The position of vice provost for undergraduate education is a new position to the University.

“Part of the reason for that is that two increasingly differentiated foci were there in that office – one undergraduates and the other faculty and academic affairs,” Hanson said.

“Because those two things were emerging as different foci, and because a lot of new initiatives on this campus revolve around undergraduates, it seemed a prodigious time to think about a vice provost in that direction who had full responsibility for the
undergraduate activities.”

The vice provost for undergraduate education position will encompass activities involved with the undergraduate experience, Hanson said.

“The position will be where University Division advising is located, where some of the academic support centers are located, where Writing Tutorial Services will be located,” she said. “All of those things that primarily serve undergraduates.”

The position will also handle transfers and the implementation of general education and scholarship opportunities.

The position of vice provost for faculty and academic affairs will cover a variety of responsibilities, ranging from tenure to leaves of absence and grievances filed against the University by faculty members, Hanson said.

Other responsibilities Hanson mentioned include faculty advocacy, faculty governance, new career services and a variety of celebrations for faculty and staff.

The applicants need to have experience in their respective fields and be capable of leading and excelling in their positions.

“We’re expecting these to be filled by full-rank, tenure-track faculty who have a track record relevant to the duties that they’ll have,” Hanson said. “On the one side, we want to see involvement with faculty affairs. The person who’s involved in the undergraduate education side should have a track record of involvement in undergraduate education.”

The new vice provosts will begin their terms on Jan. 1. Applications can be submitted at vpfaasearch@oncourse.iu.edu and vpuesearch@oncourse.iu.edu.