Who could be the next provost at UK? University names 4 candidates for the role
Candidates for the next provost at the University of Kentucky visited campus this week, hosting open forums with faculty, staff and students.
The provost position is one of the top administrators on campus, reporting to the president and working closely with students, faculty and staff at UK.
Robert DiPaola, the dean of the College of Medicine and vice president of clinical academic affairs for UK HealthCare, has been the interim provost since July after former Provost David Blackwell stepped down from the position to pursue other job opportunities.
A search committee was formed in December to conduct a national search for the next provost. The goal is to have a new provost in place by the start of the next school year, according to the provost search website.
DiPaola is among the candidates being considered for the position, as well as three others with backgrounds in higher education leadership: Robert Blouin, Cynthia Young and Amy Dittmar.
Candidates visited campus over the past week, and students, faculty and staff were able to give feedback on each candidate following their visits. All candidates were asked to address the question: “What do you think the role of the provost in leading the deans, colleges and academic support areas is in times of uncertainty, challenge and opportunity?”
Robert Blouin, former provost at UNC-Chapel Hill
Robert Blouin, the provost at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from 2017 to 2021, visited campus last Monday. Blouin stepped down as provost from UNC last year, and currently is the dean of the university’s School of Pharmacy.
Blouin also has connections to UK: not only is he an alum, but he held multiple positions in the College of Pharmacy and was Executive Director for Economic Development and Innovations Management. He left UK in 2003, after working for the university since 1978.
While he was provost, UNC faced controversy surrounding the hiring of Nikole Hannah-Jones, a New York Times journalist and author of “The 1619 Project.” Hannah-Jones was offered a position at UNC as the Knight Chair in Race and Investigative Journalism, but the school received criticism over her hiring.
The Board of Trustees took no action on offering her tenure with the position, though it offered the two previous Knight Chairs tenure with the position.
Hannah-Jones released a statement saying that administrators including the provost, who at the time was Blouin, “refused to fully explain why my tenure package had failed twice to come to a vote or exactly what transpired.” In her statement, Hannah-Jones said she felt she had been mistreated by her alma mater.
Hannah-Jones ultimately turned down the position at UNC and accepted a tenured job at Howard University as the Knight Chair in Race and Journalism.
Blouin received several questions about Hannah-Jones at his forum last Monday. Blouin said he supported Hannah-Jones for the position at UNC, but could not discuss details of what happened because of pending litigation, and said the issues were “complex and have a lot of origins with our governance structure beyond the provost and the chancellor at our university.”
At his forum, Blouin also spoke about the structures of universities. He discussed how some areas of the university would need to be more centralized, like with shared technology, while others could benefit from being decentralized and allowing individual colleges to have more autonomy. The provost should have a role in helping make sure things run efficiently at the university, he said.
Blouin also discussed the importance of collaboration across the university, and said the provost should have a role in leading collaboration across disciplines.
Cynthia Young, dean at Clemson
Cynthia Young is the founding dean of the College of Science at Clemson University, a role she has held since 2017. Prior to that, Young spent 20 years at the University of Central Florida, where she was the vice provost for faculty excellence.
During her open forum on Thursday, Young discussed her approach to the position of provost.
Young emphasized the importance of listening to faculty, and allowing them to make decisions that guide their academic units. Young also said the university’s land-grant mission is important, and something that attracted her to UK.
When leading, Young often uses the phrase “Think thoughtfully, act swiftly,” which helps guide her through the decision-making process, she said. During the pandemic, Young said she learned to pause during the decision-making process if it’s clear something else needs to be done.
Young said it is the role of a leader to do what it takes to make sure people at the university are thriving, not just surviving, and to support students and employees.
Amy Dittmar, senior vice provost at Michigan
Amy Dittmar is the senior vice provost for academic and budgetary affairs at the University of Michigan. She has been the vice provost since 2020, and has worked at the University of Michigan in various roles since 2003. She also worked at Indiana University as an assistant professor in the finance department from 1999 to 2003.
Dittmar is a native of Kentucky, and said she would view this role as a homecoming.
At her forum on Friday, Dittmar said to understand the mission of UK, she would first start by getting to know people on campus and establishing relationships with groups and deans on campus.
As part of her commitment to trust and transparency, Dittmar said she hosted 25 sessions where people on campus could come and learn more about certain topics, like the university’s budget. Dittmar also pointed to her role on a mental health task force at the University of Michigan, which opened her eyes to resources that are needed for students.
Dittmar said she views the role of the provost as one that will guide UK’s academic mission, which includes supporting both students and employees.
Robert DiPaola, acting provost at UK
DiPaola has been the acting provost at UK since last July, and was the dean of the College of Medicine before becoming acting provost. DiPaola has a medical background, and has been at UK for six years. He previously worked as the director of the Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey.
At his candidate forum on Monday, DiPaola addressed concerns about applying for the permanent position, when he had originally been appointed for one year in an interim capacity. While he had originally planned to return to the College of Medicine after a new provost was named, serving as acting provost opened his eyes to the opportunities available at UK, he said.
DiPaola said that although he is not from Kentucky, it has become home for his family, and he would stay at UK if he was not picked as the next provost.
DiPaola also discussed the importance of the provost in promoting working together across disciplines at UK, including encouraging research and collaboration throughout colleges. He also discussed his role as the university pursues re-accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), which will take place over the next year.
DiPaola has already been involved in the first stages of re-accreditation, which involves preparing an extensive report to submit, as well as preparing for a visit from SACSCOC next March. As part of the re-accreditation process, UK has had to create a Quality Enhancement Plan to address areas for improvement as outlined by UK’s strategic plan. If he became the provost, DiPaola said a key part of the role would be continuing to work towards re-accreditation for UK.
This story was originally published April 26, 2022 at 2:03 PM.
CORRECTION: Former University of Kentucky Provost David Blackwell stepped down from the position to pursue other job opportunities. This information was incorrect in a previous version of this story.