Executive Vice Provost? Anyone? Please?

One of the problems with President Schill’s top-down management style is that it’s hard to find enough yes-men and women to fill an org chart. In the past year we’ve lost Provost Banavar, CAS Dean Marcus, Dean of Libraries Lim, and Executive VP Pratt. (My apologies to any others I missed.)

Most of the faculty wanted Pratt for Provost – even at full price – and it seems there aren’t any volunteers to be his interim replacement as new Provost Phillips’ EVP. So Phillips is holding a quick internal search, in the hope a permanent position will find more takers. If there’s any UO Senate involvement in the process, Phillips doesn’t find it worth mentioning:

Dear University of Oregon faculty members,

I wanted to share with you that the search for the new Executive Vice Provost for Academic Affairs will now commence. My office will conduct an internal search for the position, which reports directly to me. This position is a critical part of the provost’s office and serves as the primary point person for academic and faculty affairs.

Consideration was given to an external search, but with a host of priorities on the table and the start of the academic year just around the corner, I thought it would be best to build a pool of candidates who already have knowledge of the University of Oregon.

I am looking for someone who has a high level of significant scholarly achievements, a track record of distinguished leadership, and a commitment to advancing the UO’s academic portfolio. The successful candidate will be someone who is highly engaged and decisive; dedicated to improving the ways we support faculty, students, and staff; and understands the importance of transparency and communication.

My leadership team has assembled a search committee to select finalists and assess the relative strengths of those finalists following a robust campus interview process. I am pleased that Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture Liska Chan has agreed to serve as chair. Liska’s past experience as a department head and associate dean will help this process move forward smoothly. Liska will be joined by a collection of faculty members and administrators representing a cross section of schools and colleges. I am confident they will help me find the right candidate for the job.

The deadline for applications will be 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, September 24, 2019. For more details and to see the position description, go to the provost’s website. Interested candidates should submit a curriculum vitae and a letter of interest that addresses how they see the job, their vision for the position, and any relevant information. All materials should be sent to [email protected] by the deadline.

To help ensure broad feedback, finalists will engage in a variety of stakeholder interviews and an open meet and greet with faculty.

I am excited at the prospect of developing a highly qualified pool of candidates for this very important job, and I look forward to hearing from the search committee as its members begin their work. If you have any questions, wish to apply, or want to suggest someone as a candidate, please don’t hesitate to contact me or the committee via [email protected].

Sincerely,
Patrick Phillips
Provost and Senior Vice President