Dear Colleagues, 

I am pleased to share an update on the search for Temple’s next provost and to ask for your input.  

I have appointed a search advisory committee that will be co-chaired by Jennifer Ibrahim, Dean of the College of Public Health, and Nora S. Newcombe, Laura H. Carnell Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience in the College of Liberal Arts.  

The other members of the search committee are  

• Jodi Bailey Accavallo, Vice President for Student Affairs;  
• Shohreh Amini, President of the Faculty Senate and Professor of Biology, College of Science and Technology;  
• Lourdes Cardamone, President of Temple Student Government and Undergraduate Student, Political Science, College of Liberal Arts;
• James Earl Davis, Bernard C. Watson Endowed Chair in Urban Education and Professor, Policy, Organizational and Leadership Studies, College of Education and Human Development;  
• Yelena Dzhanova, Doctoral Student, Media and Communication, Klein College of Media and Communication;  
• Josh Gladden, Vice President for Research and Professor, College of Science and Technology;  
• Jaison Kurichi, Senior Associate Vice President, Budget and Planning;  
• Joe Lucia, Dean, University Libraries;  
• Anjali Rajadhyaksha, Professor, Neural Sciences and Director, Center for Substance Abuse Research, Lewis Katz School of Medicine;
• Michael Schirmer, Associate Professor of Practice, Marketing, Fox School of Business; and  
• Kimmika Williams-Witherspoon, Senior Associate Dean for Strategic Initiatives and Innovation, Center for the Performing and Cinematic Arts and Professor, School of Theater, Film and Media Arts.

We have retained WittKieffer, a global executive search firm with a strong track record in academic leadership recruitment, as our search partner. As we work to develop the position profile, our colleagues at WittKieffer have prepared a brief survey to gather input about the qualifications and qualities needed for this role. In addition, they will hold focus groups with various constituencies across the university. We value your input and feedback and hope that you will contribute your thoughts to the process. 

You can find a listing of the search advisory committee members and general information about the search on the provost’s website. This site will be updated once a position profile has been finalized and posted. 

Finally, if you have nominations, candidate suggestions or questions about the search, you can reach out to WittKieffer at TempleProvost@wittkieffer.com. Other questions can be directed to Vice President Weegie Esten, who is staffing the search on behalf of the president’s office.  

Having just been through a presidential search, I am keenly aware that selecting a new provost will also be a process that takes time and requires confidentiality so that candidates are comfortable discussing the position with us and our search firm. We hope that you will understand and respect that your colleagues on the search committee will not be able to discuss the status of the search or potential candidates with you. I will, however, send you general updates from time to time as the search progresses. 

Thank you for your continued support of our search for a new provost.  

Sincerely,  

John Fry 
President