RECAST | Student and Academic Life leadership team update

From: McAvity, David
Sent: Wednesday, September 2, 2020 3:39 PM
To: All Staff & Faculty DL

Dear Colleagues,

I’m writing to provide an update regarding leadership changes created by vacancies in the two Vice Provost positions in Student and Academic Life.

Dr. Jeannette Smith will serve on a special assignment as Associate Dean for Student Affairs and Engagement, joining her colleagues Andy Corn and Elizabeth McHugh as co-leads for Student Engagement. In this role, Jeannette will facilitate a cross-divisional process to consider models for coordination of student affairs areas that will result in a proposal to the Senior Leadership Team. In addition, she will lead the development and implementation of a holistic communication plan for students.

Trevor Speller will become interim Vice Provost for the duration of my time as Interim Provost. In this role, Trevor will maintain some of the work he had as a curriculum dean, including undergraduate enrollment forecasting, and regular, adjunct, and furlough faculty line distribution across the graduate and undergraduate curriculum. In addition, Trevor will oversee faculty leaves, contracts and the allocation of instructional academic resources. He will supervise the operational managers in the Sciences, Visual Arts, and the Academic Budget Office.

Elizabeth Williamson will shift her portfolio and join Kathleen Eamon and Larry Geri as a Curriculum Dean, which will include work with the CAT leaders, oversight of the First-Year Experience/Greener Foundations program and work with Olympia Day faculty on their teaching plans. Among other responsibilities, Elizabeth will continue to work with the Washington Center and Commons to create faculty development opportunities.

I am grateful to each of these colleagues for their readiness to adjust to the changing administrative needs of the College. With these decisions now made, the Student and Academic Life Leadership Team will continue to assess the administrative workload and make a recommendation to me about whether to fill the vacant dean position that Trevor’s move to the Vice Provost position creates. We are all mindful of the tension between the increased workload associated with our strategic initiatives and COVID-19, the furloughs the administrative team is taking alongside faculty and staff, and an interest in further reducing administrative staffing costs beyond those achieved through recent budget reductions.

Please join me in thanking our colleagues for their continued willingness to serve the College in key leadership roles.

Best wishes,

David McAvity
Interim Provost & Vice President for Student and Academic Life