AUSTIN, Texas—Four candidates for the position of provost, the administrator in charge of academic affairs at The University of Texas at Austin, have been chosen as finalists and are scheduled to visit with student, faculty and staff members during open forums on campus in late November and early December.
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Dr. Robert Newman
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A national search for a new provost began in May after Sheldon Ekland-Olson, executive vice president and provost at The University of Texas at Austin since 1998, announced that he would leave his position and return to the faculty in the Department of Sociology on Aug. 31. Dr. Steve Monti has been serving as interim executive vice president and provost since Ekland-Olson’s departure.
An 18-member search committee consisting of deans, faculty members and students scheduled the open forums to provide members of the university community an opportunity to listen to and question the candidates. They encourage people to provide input to the committee during the forums as well as afterward via an online process. The committee, chaired by Architecture Professor Larry Speck, plans to submit recommendations to William Powers Jr., president of the university, before the end of this year.
The candidates are:
- Dr. Robert D. Newman, dean of humanities and associate vice president for interdisciplinary studies at the University of Utah. He will attend forums in Main 212 (Main Building) on Tuesday, Nov. 28, including the Staff Open Forum at 10 a.m., the Faculty Open Forum at 1:15 p.m., and the Student Open Forum at 4:45 p.m.
- Dr. Paul W. Ludden, dean of the College of Natural Resources at the University of California, Berkeley. He will attend forums in Main 212 on Dec. 5, including the Staff Open Forum at 10 a.m., the Faculty Open Forum at 1:15 p.m., and the Student Open Forum at 4:45 p.m.
- Dr. Steven W. Leslie, dean of the College of Pharmacy at The University of Texas at Austin. He will be attending forums in Main 212 on Dec. 12, including the Staff Open Forum at 10 a.m., the Faculty Open Forum at 1:15 p.m., and the Student Open Forum at 4:45 p.m.
- Dr. James V. Staros, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at State University of New York Stony Brook. He will attend forums in the Flawn Academic Center, 4th Floor Atrium on Dec. 14, including the Staff Open Forum at 10 a.m., the Faculty Open Forum at 1:15 p.m., and the Student Open Forum at 4:45 p.m.
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Dr. Paul Ludden
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Newman received his bachelor of arts degree with honors in English from The Pennsylvania State University, his master’s degree in literature and aesthetics from Goddard College and his doctor’s degree in English from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Prior to having been appointed to his present position at the University of Utah in 2001, Newman was professor and chair of the Department of English at University of South Carolina, 1995-2001.
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Dr. Steven Leslie
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Ludden received his bachelor of science degree in chemistry from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and his doctor’s degree in biochemistry from University of Wisconsin-Madison. He has been dean of the College of Natural Resources and a professor in the Department of Plant and Microbial Biology at University of California, Berkeley since 2002. He also has been a faculty member at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory since 2005. Previously he was executive associate dean at the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences at University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1999-2002.
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Dr. James Staros
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Leslie received his bachelor of science degree in pharmacy, master of science degree in pharmacology/toxicology and his doctor’s degree in pharmacology/toxicology from Purdue University. He has been dean of the College of Pharmacy at The University of Texas at Austin since 1998 and has been a professor in the university’s College of Pharmacy since 1984. Leslie’s career at The University of Texas at Austin began as an assistant professor in the College of Pharmacy in 1974. He became an associate professor in 1979 and later worked from 1980-82 as an associate professor at The University of Alabama at Birmingham Medical Center before returning to The University of Texas at Austin as an associate professor in the Division of Pharmacology and Toxicology in 1982-84.
Staros earned a bachelor of arts degree in biology/chemistry at Dartmouth College and a doctor’s degree in molecular biophysics and biochemistry from Yale University. His postdoctoral work in bioorganic chemistry was at Harvard University. Staros has been dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and a professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology at State University of New York Stony Brook since 2002. He also is an adjoint professor of biological sciences at Vanderbilt University. He had been chairman of Vanderbilt University’s Department of Biological Sciences, 1999-2002.
For more information contact: Robert D. Meckel, Office of Public Affairs, 512-475-7847.
