By Kyle Swanson, Daily News Editor
Published January 25, 2010
“This job is a little bit unusual compared with most provost jobs because of the budgetary responsibility and so I do think it’s going to be important to have someone who has either budgetary experience or the ability to pick that up pretty quickly,” Sullivan said at the time. “But, I think it’s important that you have somebody in this job who has a strong academic background and understands the aspirations of faculty.”
Courtesy of University of Michigan
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A veteran of the University community with extensive experience in the provost’s office, Hanlon fits the ticket. In addition to these characteristics, Sullivan told the Daily her successor would need to be forward thinking and open-minded.
“They need to be broad minded enough and interested enough so that they can have conversations with people from many fields, because in one day the provost interacts with people from all over the campus and it’s important to be able to have important conversations with them no matter where they come from,” Sullivan said at the time. “That does take a kind of breadth of intellectual vision that not everyone finds congenial.”
“I think there’s also something that we think of as the administrative personality,” she said. “It’s the ability to listen carefully and commute your own self interests in a conversation.”
University officials were not commenting on the anticipated announcement last night, but several executives and regents outlined qualifications they said would be essential for the next provost when Sullivan was announced as the University of Virginia’s next president two weeks ago.
Dean of Libraries Paul Courant, who served as the University’s Provost from 2002 to 2005 told the Daily at the time that the ability to balance academic and budgetary pressures would be paramount.
“The provost is the chief academic officer and the chief budget officer at the institution,” Courant said at the time. “The budget times are going to be tough over the next while and the provost has to be able to ensure that the academic missions of the University — learning, teaching, research — are always in the foreground as choices are made, especially in tough times.”
Prof. James Duderstadt, who rose through the University’s internal ranks to become provost and from 1988 to 1996 University president, highlighted several similar characteristics for Sullivan’s replacement. However, he said the deciding factor of whether a replacement would be successful would come down to his or her relationship with Coleman.
“In the end, I think it’s very much a relationship between the provost and president which makes universities work well,” he said at the time.
Duderstadt and Courant both said at the time that it was too early to tell whether the next provost would be selected from within the University or not. However, they said national searches are typically conducted for such a prominent position.
“We have some very capable deans right now and that’s the first pool you look at,” Duderstadt said at the time. “There’s a lot of talent inside, but there’s a lot of talent as you look across the country right now.”
“It’s often the case that provosts come from inside because it’s useful to know how the University works. I think that’s why it’s been done that way in the past,” Courant said at the time. “Yet, Terry was an extremely effective and successful provost here, so it’s clear that one can come from outside and do very, very well in the job.”
Though Hanlon won’t assume his new role for five months, his new position will place him into a job known for developing future university presidents.
In addition to Sullivan, who will leave for the University of Virginia’s presidency this summer, University of Michigan provosts often go on to serve as presidents of major institutions.
Charles M.
