With Provost David Campbell stepping down from his administrative position to return to research and teaching, the search for his successor has begun.
“The University Provost is the most demanding academic position in the University,” said President Robert Brown in an email to The Daily Free Press Wednesday night. “We will look for a faculty leader with the qualifications and energy to carry on with the ambitious agenda we have set for the University.”
Brown outlined qualities he’s looking for in a successor on the provost website Tuesday.
These included being a distinguished researcher and scholar, demonstrating a history of innovative and effective leadership, having a “well-developed ability to gauge academic quality and appreciation for the vital importance of hiring and promotion decisions in creating and sustaining excellence in the University” and being able to make resource allocation decisions, among other things.
According to the site, the search for a replacement will be carried out by R. William Funk and Associates, a search firm that has helped BU to find new faculty members in the past, and will be coordinated with Douglas Sears, an associate provost and assistant to Brown.
“Mr. Funk is a very distinguished executive search consultant with an established record of identifying strong academic leaders,” Brown wrote in a letter received by the faculty on Wednesday.
In the letter, Brown also explained that he will not be creating a formal search committee, but would instead “solicit applications and nominations for the position of University Provost from both within Boston University and nationally and then seek advice on prospective candidates from the leadership of the Board of Trustees, as well as key administrative and academic leaders.”
“I do not have a specific timeline &- my goal is to bring the very best University Provost to Boston University,” he said in an email to The Free Press.
Brown explained that until a new provost is acclimated to the position, Campbell will stay in place, something that Campbell reiterated in an interview with The Daily Free Press.
Brown applauded Campbell’s tenure as provost.
“David is one of the brightest and most honorable university leaders that I have had the pleasure of working with,” he said.
“David Campbell is in place and committed to affecting a seamless transition when the new Provost arises,” he added.
He emphasized the role Campbell played in getting projects such as One BU and the Honors College started.
“He has administered the provost’s office very well while leading important academic initiatives such as working with Associate Provost Victor Coelho on the One BU and leading the process that has led to the launch of the University Honors College,” Brown said. “These are major accomplishments that will have a large impact on BU’s future.”
As the university begins to fully undergo its search for the new provost, Brown promised that Campbell’s departure would not negatively affect the progress and change that BU is currently undergoing.
“There will be no pause in our ambitions, our plans or our execution,” he said.
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