Syracuse University will not start looking for a new provost until after spring break, Chancellor Kent Syverud said Wednesday.

Syverud discussed that search and other issues during the University Senate’s annual open forum in Maxwell Auditorium.

Here are three takeaways from the meeting:

Provost search

Senator Margaret Susan Thompson asked administrators for an update on the search to replace Michele Wheatly. Vice President for Research John Liu is currently SU’s acting provost.

SU announced that Wheatly, hired in 2016, would be stepping down as provost last November. She now serves as a special adviser to Syverud and will lead women’s leadership initiatives on campus, according to SU.

Syverud said he decided to wait on launching the provost search until after spring break “given everything that’s been going on with the university.” Spring break ends March 22.

“I felt that I would need time for an in-depth discussion with Senate leadership, with deans, with others about that process,” he said. “I have not done anything about it.”

Board of Trustees diversity

Senator Tula Goenka told university leaders that the diversity of SU’s central administration and Board of Trustees should be a priority.

“Diversity needs to be at every level,” she said, and not just among students, faculty and staff.

Syverud in response said the board’s new chair, Kathleen Walters, is focused on diversity “more than anyone in memory.” SU adds about four members to the board per year, the chancellor said.

“There [are] 44 voting members of the Board of Trustees, so the turnover takes about 12 years,” he said.

In regard to the administration, Syverud said he is concerned about a lack of gender diversity among deans. The university has lost several women deans in recent years, he said.

Three of SU’s permanent deans are women. Eight are men, if including University College. After Dean Lorraine Branham died of cancer last year, Amy Falkner was appointed interim dean of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications.

Among SU’s vice presidents, racial diversity is always affected by what the recruiting pool looks like, he said.

Research focus

Senator Coran Klaver asked Syverud about SU’s commitment to the humanities, citing the number of scientists in top research positions.

Klaver said that Liu, the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and other administrators are all from scientific backgrounds. Liu specializes in aquaculture genetics. Karin Ruhlandt, dean of Arts and Sciences, is an expert on organometallic chemistry, among other subjects.

“I’m concerned about that,” Klaver said, “and would like to see humanists be put in some of those key positions around deans and associate deans.”

Syverud said he has discussed this issue with members of SU’s leadership team.

“I noticed this phenomena not just at Syracuse but at many institutions of higher education,” the chancellor said. “I think it’s driven in part by the sources of funding for research in the country.”

Published on February 12, 2020 at 9:32 pm

Contact Sam: sfogozal@syr.edu | @SamOgozalek