President Simmons to chair selection committee for next provost

A nine-member committee chaired by President Ruth J. Simmons will select the next provost of Brown University. Applications and nominations for provost, who is the University’s second-ranking administrative officer, should be received no later than Nov. 15, 2001.

PROVIDENCE — In a letter to colleagues in the campus community, Brown University President Ruth J. Simmons announced members of the committee that will select a provost to succeed Kathryn T. Spoehr, who concluded her service Aug. 31, 2001.

The provost is the second-ranking officer in the administration and serves as the officer in charge when the president is away. A primary responsibility of the provost is to ensure that University resources are applied in a manner consistent with Brown’s academic mission. The provost chairs the Advisory Committee on University Planning, which recommends strategies for the operating budget; oversees libraries, computing resources, deans, and directors of institutes and centers; acts on recommendations regarding faculty appointment, reappointment, tenure and promotion; and reviews fund-raising needs and priorities for consistency with the University’s goals.

Simmons will chair the committee. Other members include:

• Michael D. Bartini, director of financial aid;



• Julie A. Esdale, graduate student in anthropology;



• Joseph Hogan, Manning Assistant Professor of Medical Science;



• Marion E. Orr, associate professor of political science, public policy and urban studies;



• James Padbury, professor of pediatrics;



• Jill C. Pipher, professor of mathematics;



• Ellen F. Rooney, professor of English and modern culture and media;



• Sohil Sud, undergraduate student in the Class of 2003.

Simmons has urged all members of the Brown community to assist the committee in identifying prospective candidates within Brown and in encouraging talented colleagues outside Brown to consider applying for the position.

All nominations should be submitted as soon as possible, Simmons said, and no later than Nov. 15, 2001.

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