IU fills 2 new vice provost positions

Executive Vice President and Provost Karen Hanson added two new vice provosts to IU’s staff Thursday.

Hanson chose Sonya Stephens as Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education and Thomas Gieryn as Vice Provost for Faculty and Academic Affairs. 

“These are entirely new positions,” said Steve Hinnefeld of University Communications. “A new way of restructuring and organizing IU’s undergraduate academics.”

Research for the new positions began in October 2008. According to October’s press release, two full-time vice provosts would be chosen to oversee the Office of Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculties. The goal of this is to reconstruct some of the campus administration. 

“There are innovations that we expect to come out of this and improvements in our services to undergraduate students,” Hanson said.

As vice provost for faculty and academics, Gieryn will deal with issues related to academic policies as well as managing promotions and tenure processes.

Gieryn, former chair of the department of sociology in the College of Arts and Sciences, has been with IU since 1979. He also serves as a professor in history and philosophy of science.

Stephens obtained a Ph.D. and B.A. from the University of Cambridge and an M.A. from the University of Montreal. She came to IU in 2006 and is professor and chair of the department of French and Italian. Stephens’s role as vice provost will mainly entail dealing with the undergraduate curriculum and school deans to better students’ education.

“The schools provide the courses and have control of their curriculum and degree requirements,” Hanson said.