Kennesaw State’s 20-member search committee, appointed by KSU President Pamela Whitten, recently selected finalist candidates for the position of KSU provost and vice president for academic affairs.
Dr. Jon Preston, chair of the search committee and dean of the College of Computing and Software Engineering, said, “The president will announce the finalists for on-campus interviews [the week of Oct. 29], and on-campus interviews will be held the first two full weeks in November.”
Matthew Hunnicutt, president of KSU’s Student Government Association and a member of the search committee, said that once finalists are announced, a handful will come and tour both campuses, as well as partake in open forum events. After that, the candidates will be narrowed down to the finalist for the position.
“We were all really looking for a provost who can understand Kennesaw, get things done, understand the unique culture and handle the unique challenges,” Hunnicutt said. “Transparency is also a huge deal because of the things that have happened in the past few years.”
The 20 members of the search committee include faculty and staff members from both the Kennesaw and Marietta campuses and each of KSU’s 13 colleges. As the sole student member of the search committee, Hunnicutt has an important voice in the decision-making process.
“I’m really grateful that the people in charge of these committees see the importance of having a student on there,” Hunnicutt said. “I really did go out of my way to make sure I always had a say and talked about the candidates we discussed.”
The newly appointed provost will replace Linda Noble, who has been serving as interim provost and vice president of academic affairs since January 2018.
“Reporting to the president, the provost and vice president for academic affairs is the chief academic officer of the university,” according to the ad posted on KSU’s website. “The provost is responsible for all aspects of the university’s academic mission, including the intellectual environment for faculty, students and staff and planning, budgeting, supervising and reviewing programs in instruction, research and continuing education.”
