I am pleased to announce the appointment of the Search Advisory Committee for the Provost, which met today (Nov. 7) for the first time. The members of the Search Advisory Committee are as follows:

Therese Dolan, Chair (Tyler School of Art), Franklin A. Davis (College of Science and Technology), Mohammad F. Kiani (College of Engineering), Bruce B. Rader (Fox School of Business), Joan P. Shapiro (College of Education), Karen M. Turner (School of Media and Communication), David Lopez (President, Temple Student Government), Rachel Myers (Graduate Student, College of Health Professions and Social Work), Michael Scales (Associate Vice President, Student Affairs), Carol Lang (Interim Dean, University Libraries), Teresa Soufas (Dean, College of Liberal Arts), Michael Sitler (Interim Dean, College of Health Professions and Social Work) and Anthony E. Wagner (Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President).

The Search Advisory Committee will immediately begin accepting nominations (i.e., a name) and self-nominations for the position of Provost. Any tenured faculty member with the rank of professor is eligible to be nominated. Any member of the Temple University community (including but not limited to faculty, staff or student) may submit a nomination. Nominations may be given directly to a member of the Search Advisory Committee or sent to the following email address: provostsearch@temple.edu. All nominations should be kept strictly confidential by the nominators, the nominees, the Search Advisory Committee members and anyone else associated with the search process. As the Search Advisory Committee develops its criteria for the position, it will provide further information about the nomination process, including a timeline.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the members of the Search Advisory Committee for their willingness to serve. I especially want to thank Professor Therese Dolan for her willingness to step forward and chair the Committee.

Finally, a very sincere thank you is warranted for our Faculty Senate’s leadership and Committee on Administrative and Trustee Appointments (CATA) for its role in recommending excellent faculty members to serve on the Search Advisory Committee. Especially appreciated is the very thorough process by which CATA solicited and reviewed potential nominees to serve on the committee.

This search process provides a great opportunity for our incoming president, Dr. Neil Theobald, to take advantage of the terrific talent of our University. Please consider nominating outstanding persons for this position.

— Richard M. Englert, Acting President