Picking provosts

The four candidates have spoken, now it’s time to take make the decision

It’s decision time.

The final provost candidate, Sallie Keller-McNulty of Rice University, spoke her thoughts about technology and faculty Tuesday, and now the pool has to be narrowed from four to one.

University President Michael Adams will decide the new provost this month, and the newly-appointed person will train with Provost Arnett Mace before taking his place in January.

When considering what we, as students, want in a provost, the editorial board pinpointed a few priorities – hiring faculty, extending academics, working more with students and doing all this with a struggling budget.

That’s a lot to ask, we know, but two of the candidates pop out with this in mind.

Jere Morehead, the University’s vice president of instruction, repeated the word “faculty” too many times to count during his public session. There’s no doubt the first thing he wants to do when money starts coming back is to hire faculty. Given Morehead’s past involvement with the law school and Honors program, he’s dedicated to academics. His focus on faculty pertained to drawing the best and brightest students.

Keller-McNulty also spoke about faculty and graduate students, but her approach was a bit different. It was more focused on giving faculty the support they need by eliminating bureaucracy, encouraging creative ideas and building support from strong co-workers. She mentioned that we should do more to recruit the best graduate students, who are more than just support for the teaching force. Her national recognition as a leader in statistics and engineering could significantly help our medical school and engineering program initiatives.

During Morehead’s public session, we were surprised how student-focused he seems. He mentioned graduate students and growing the graduate program several times. He’s been pegged with the stigma of being an inside hire, but we don’t think that should hinder his qualifications for provost. He already knows how to work with the president’s office and can jump in sooner to make effective decisions. With a tough budget and many goals to accomplish, we think his connections in Atlanta and Washington, D.C. will get results faster.

And although it’s still a tough call between Morehead and Keller-McNulty, Morehead is our pick. We hope we aren’t heavily biased because we’ve gotten to know Morehead on campus, but he exhibits the qualities this campus needs.

- Carolyn Crist for the editorial board