Dr. Karen L. Gould, Provost & SVP
As the chief academic officer for the institution, the provost and senior vice president provides leadership for all academic matters at the university. Working in collaboration with the university’s senior leadership and academic councils, the provost oversees the quality of academic programs, faculty instruction and student learning, faculty research and creative activity, academic outreach and community partnerships, strategic planning, and budgetary allocations in support of academic priorities.
The provost works to ensure faculty quality and advancement by providing leadership on matters related to faculty appointment, promotion, tenure, and the overall working conditions of the faculty. The provost also works to increase student retention, promote student engagement and active learning, and ensure that students achieve their educational goals.
The provost reports to the president and acts on the president’s behalf in his absence.
Eight students are conducting research with biology Professor Simon Malcomber that could ultimately lead to increased agriculture production and new biofuels.
With the support of a three-year, $330,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), Malcomber, graduate student Ashley Christensen, and undergraduate students Beverlie Baquir, Michael Batty, Richard Frederick, Katie Gallagher, Lori Glenwinkel, Sarav Patel and Daniel Woods are using state-of-the-art technology to isolate genes found in the grass family, which includes crops like barley, corn, oats, rice, rye and wheat. They are looking at the developmental and genetic changes that cause plants to look different from one another so that they can better understand how flowers appear and are arranged on a plant. Read the full story.
