VCU’s search for its next provost and vice president for academic affairs may end soon.
When former provost Roderick McDavis, who had served in the position since 1999, left last year to become president of Ohio State University, VCU President Eugene P. Trani appointed Stephen D. Gottfredson to serve as interim provost. Gottfredson then was dean of the College of Humanities and Sciences.
Judith Lewis, associate professor in VCU’s School of Nursing and president of the Faculty Senate, who represented the faculty on the search committee, discussed the provost’s role in a phone interview late last week.
“It’s one university, and we all have specific roles that we play,” she said. “The provost’s leadership in terms of academia, in terms of the academic life of the university – together with the vice provosts – will set the tone for the faculty – and we are going to be just as affected as the folks on the Monroe Park Campus.”
Robert Holsworth, interim dean of the College of Humanities and Sciences, co-chaired the search committee with Dr. Sheldon Retchin, vice president for health sciences and chief executive officer for the VCU Health System.
“We’ve brought four, I hope excellent, candidates to campus,” Holsworth said.
“They have been seen by the campus community. We’ve made sure that they’ve seen faculty, students, staff (and) high-level administration.”
The committee, he said, looked for a host of qualifications, but the main qualifications included: