Kennesaw State’s Provost Search Committee discontinued its consideration of four provost and vice president of academic affairs finalists who presented on campus in November 2018.
Drs. Larry Singell, Melanie Perreault, Mike Ferrara and Teresa Dahlberg are no longer under consideration for the position of provost and vice president of academic affairs. The members of the search committee have since refused to comment on exactly why these finalists are no longer under consideration.
The finalists visited either the Marietta or Kennesaw campus to meet with various constituencies and to hold public presentations open to all KSU faculty, staff and students, according to KSU’s website. The presentations were also live-streamed at livestream.kenensaw.edu for those who could not attend.
Prior to the finalist’s presentations, Dr. Jon Preston commented on the quality of the candidates.
“The search committee has been impressed with the quality of the candidates who applied for the position,” Preston said. “All four finalists have extensive experience in higher education administration [and] leadership and are well qualified, and all come from strong institutions.”
Preston was the previous chair of the provost search committee, but has since been removed from the committee member list for unknown reasons, according to KSU’s website. Dr. Lynn Disbrow, dean of university college and professor of leadership studies, is currently listed as the chair of the committee.
The provost search committee plans to meet during the week of Jan. 20 to continue its deliberations. The committee expects to have newly selected candidates speak on campus by the second week of February.
“This phase of the search is going well and I’m pleased by the continued efforts of the committee and of the support the KSU community has shown,” Disbrow said.
Dr. Larry Singell, executive dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Indiana University, presented on Nov. 5. Dr. Melanie Perreault, provost and vice president of academic affairs at SUNY Buffalo State College, presented on Nov. 7. Dr. Mike Ferrara, dean of the College of Health and Human Services at the University of New Hampshire, presented on Nov. 12. Lastly, Dr. Teresa Dahlberg, dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science at Syracuse University, presented on Nov. 14.
None of these four finalists were selected and none will be considered moving forward. According to the search committee, this is all a part of the recruitment process.
KSU President Dr. Pamela Whitten sent an email to the university deans and chairs on Oct. 9, stating that the committee hopes to have a new provost in office by winter 2019.
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. The firm Funk & Associates is assisting in the search, according to KSU’s website.
