Update on Provost Search

We are writing to provide an update on the progress of the search for our next Provost. 

In December, the nine-member search committee was finalized and an executive profile of the position was developed with input received in the many listening sessions conducted with groups across the WPI community. The profile presents a clear description to prospective candidates of WPI and its special attributes, a summary of the opportunities for and expectations of our next provost, and a list of the qualifications and personal characteristics that they will need to succeed here. The members of the search committee, the position profile, and other information related to the search can be found at this link: wpi.edu/provost-search.

The executive search firm WittKieffer was chosen to assist the search committee, primarily in developing a diverse pool of strong candidates.  The deadline for applications to be fully considered was February 16th. Since early January, the search committee has been working together on the steps of the search process that have gotten us to this point and to anticipate those steps yet to come.  Last week, the committee reviewed the 91 applications received, and selected a group of qualified applicants for preliminary Zoom interviews.

Following those preliminary interviews, the search committee will conduct in-person interviews with a smaller subset of the top applicants later in March.  After those second March interviews, the search committee will recommend a handful of finalists for open on-campus interviews during the weeks of April 8th, April 15th and possibly April 22nd. The purpose of those visits is for the candidates to meet with our community, and for community members to assess the qualifications and of each candidate.

So, please mark those few weeks on your calendars. We hope you will all make it a priority to participate in the on-campus interviews and provide the search committee with your constructive feedback about the finalists. Your responses will be crucial in deciding who our next Provost will be.

Bogdan Vernescu, Search Committee Chair
Mark Richman, Search Committee Vice Chair