I am writing to share that we will soon begin a search for a Vice Provost for Academic Affairs.

As I have mentioned at University Senate meetings this year, the Provost’s Office leadership team has been conducting a review to ensure that our office is structured to best support the services needed by the academic community. This process had led to the creation of the Vice Provost for Academic Affairs role, achieved through a realignment of current vice provost roles. We are repurposing the vacant Vice Provost for Research and Infrastructure role, as well as redefining the focus of two of our existing roles, currently the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and the Vice Provost for Curriculum and Undergraduate Education. These changes will fully take effect when the Vice Provost for Academic Affairs role has been filled, which we anticipate will have a summer start date.

The Vice Provost for Academic Affairs role will focus considerable energy on development and refinement of academic policy and procedures with a particular emphasis on promotion, tenure, and re-appointments as well as oversight of curriculum. Overall, the primary goal in this vice provost portfolio will be to ensure clarity, consistency, and equity in key academic processes while also seeking opportunities to reduce barriers that hinder the success of Stony Brook faculty and staff.

The portfolio for this new role will allow the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs portfolio to shift wholly to faculty and academic staff development. This will include greater concentration on supporting our people across the various stages of their career at Stony Brook including onboarding and offboarding, retention, mentoring, professional development, expanding internal recognition and success in receiving external awards, collaboration with the Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and Intercultural Initiatives, and leadership development. These efforts will be highly coordinated with the work already being done across our schools and colleges.

The inclusion of curriculum in the Vice Provost for Academic Affairs portfolio will also allow the Vice Provost for Curriculum and Undergraduate Education role to be redefined with a singular focus on undergraduate education.

If you are interested in providing any feedback on the Vice Provost for Academic Affairs role or in nominating anyone for the search committee, please click here to complete a short survey, which will be open through Feb. 28. We will conduct this search internally and will appoint a search committee soon, with an announcement to follow soon after.

Sincerely,
Carl

Carl Lejuez
Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs