The provost is only one step below University President Larry Bacow on Tufts' administrative ladder, but the search to replace outgoing Provost Sol Gittleman will be much different from the process that selected his new boss last spring.
That search, led by University Trustee Irwin Hellar, lasted seven months and was organized by an executive search firm that identified and screened potential candidates. A 12-member Tufts committee scrutinized the candidates recommended by the search firm, narrowing the pool to five finalists. Bacow was chosen by an eight-member Executive Committee.
Before the presidential search began, Tufts solicited suggestions from faculty, students, and alumni and held forums with Hellar seeking community feedback.
The new provost will be selected independently by Bacow with only informal input from the rest of the Tufts community. The University has placed an advertisement in the Chronicle of Higher Education that directs applicants for the provost position to the president's office.
The ad describes the position as responsible for "ensuring the quality and relevance of education and research in the University and for leading Tufts' signature interdisciplinary and multi-school initiatives." The provost works closely with the president, hiring deans and other faculty members, and coordinating Tufts' seven schools.
Bacow has not announced plans to hire an outside search firm, and while the trustees may play a role in the selection, it will ultimately be the president's decision. "It's typical for a president to appoint a provost, and that's how it will be done here," Executive Associate to the President Judy Olson said, adding that Bacow would seek input "informally from a number of constituents."
Whoever is ultimately chosen will work in a new administrative structure unveiled last month by Bacow, who hopes to increase efficiency and save money on salaries. Part of the plan included eliminating the vice president's office formerly held by Mel Bernstein.
Gittleman's decision to resign came on the same day Bacow unveiled the restructuring of the provost's office. In November, Bacow presented his plan to the trustees, which included the appointment of two associate provosts to Gittleman's office, Dean of Engineering Ioannis Miaoulis and Dr. Mary Y. Lee, dean of educational affairs at the medical school.
Also advertised in the Chronicle are vacancies for the dean and associate dean of the Sackler School of Biomedical Sciences.
Gittleman says the money saved by restructuring could raise faculty salaries. But though Bernstein, who left the University in June, was a top official, he was not among the five highest-paid administrators, all of whom make over $240,000. Bernstein left Tufts to become provost at Brandies University in Waltham, MA. Associate Dean Michaele Whelan also left in November for Brandeis.
Gittleman plans to leave his post in June after serving 21 years as Tufts' provost, and plans to continue teaching at the University.
