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Search
ends where it began: Donovan hired
The
geology department chairman will attend a provost workshop
at Harvard University to prepare for his new job.
By
Jarod
Daily
Staff Reporter
The university’s nationwide search for the next provost
ended Wednesday after Nowell Donovan, the only in-house
finalist, was named to the position.
Donovan, the geology department chairman, will start June
1. He will succeed current Provost and Vice Chancellor
for Academic Affairs William Koehler, who retires at the
end of the year.
Donovan was one of three final candidates for the position,
along with Florida International University chemistry
professor Arthur Herriott and Michael Mezey, dean of the
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at DePaul University.
Each candidate had a two-day interview session. Donovan’s
session was the last of the three and was finished Thursday.
Donovan said he signed his contract around 2:30 p.m. and
spent a couple of hours talking with the people who work
in the provost’s office.
“What I want to do is involve all the people who
will report to me in making their jobs as efficient as
possible,” he said.
Donovan said to make the transition to provost he will
be going to a provost workshop at Harvard University later
on to learn about aspects of the position with which he
is unfamiliar.
Koehler said he will be working with Donovan to help him
learn how to be a provost.
“I’ll help him as much as I can to make the
transition easier,” he said.
Boschini said deciding which candidate to appoint as provost
was a difficult but important choice to make. He said
he based his decision on feedback from the campus on each
candidate’s interview session.
“Based on feedback from the campus, Dr. Donovan seemed
to be who most people wanted as provost,” he said.
“Also, he’s who I felt could do the job best.”
Boschini said he was trying to reach Herriott and Mezey.
“I feel that since they came down to the campus for
the interviews, I owe it to them to talk to them in person,”
he said.
Koehler said he is confident about having Donovan as his
replacement.
“Dr. Donovan is a very bright man, a very quick study
and he knows a lot about TCU,” he said.
Donovan said the most important part of being provost
will be working with the budget.
“Making the budget really work for the university
is really important,” he said. “All aspects
of the university must be crisp and efficient.”
Although he will be unable to teach during the beginning
of his time as provost, Donovan said he and Boschini have
agreed he will teach a class when they decide the time
is right.
“I think it’s important for me symbolically
to be seen in the classroom,” he said.
Religion professor Nadia Lahutsky, who chaired the provost
search committee, said she is relieved the bulk of her
job as the head of the search committee is over.
“Now I can get back to my job as a religion professor
and as the chair of the Faculty Senate,” she said.
Religion professor David Grant said there will be a learning
curve for Donovan regarding the administrative aspects
of being provost, but that he does not think it will be
a major issue.
“He understands the strengths and weaknesses of TCU,
and either of the other candidates would have had a learning
curve in that area,” he said.
Lahutsky said she is glad to have been able to lead the
search for a provost.
“I had a great committee, and got to know a lot of
people better than I otherwise would have been able to,”
she said. |
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Ty
Halasz/Staff Photographer
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| Geology
chairman Nowell Donovan was named the next provost
and vice chancellor for academic affairs by Chancellor
Victor Boschini Wednesday. |
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