VPR Search Update

Dear Members of the Lehigh Community

As I shared with you last semester, with Alan Snyder stepping down from the role of Vice President and Associate Provost for Research and Graduate Studies we will begin a search for new leadership of our research enterprise at Lehigh. Since that announcement I have had a series of discussions with faculty about what is needed to advance the impact and scale of our research and scholarly work. I write today to provide an update on this process and to describe some of the next steps that are being taken now.

Following these conversations about the position and about research at Lehigh, I have decided that the position for which we will be searching is most appropriately titled “Vice Provost for Research”. This title effectively communicates the focus of this position on supporting research and indicates that this position reports to the Provost, as Alan Snyder has for the last few years.

As I indicated previously, this position will be filled by someone who is currently a faculty member at Lehigh. Candidates should have a history of being highly research active. This restructured position will allow the holder of the role to maintain an active research programme. Continuing in research will be supported and encouraged, but not required.

I am pleased to inform the campus that I have identified and charged a committee (see list below) to assist with this search. Dean Steve DeWeerth has agreed to chair the committee and Dr. Lee Kern has agreed to be vice chair. Very soon, this committee will begin a series of meetings with stakeholders to better define experience and characteristics that we are seeking in this important role and to review candidates for the position. I encourage those interested to provide thoughts and feedback to the committee and to apply once the formal position description is complete in a few weeks. I thank the members of this committee in advance for their work on this important task.

Best,
Nathan Urban

Vice Provost for Research Search Committee

Steve DeWeerth - Dean, P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science, Search Committee Chair

Lee Kern - Professor College of Education, Vice Chair of the Committee

Chris Carter - Associate Vice President, Government Relations

Constance Cook - Professor, Modern Languages and Literatures

James Gilchrist - Professor, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering

Eduardo Gómez - Associate Professor, Community and Population Health

Terry-Ann Jones - Professor, Political Science

Cynthia Kane - Assistant Vice President, Office of Research and Sponsored Programs

Alberto Lamadrid - Associate Professor, Economics

Anand Ramamurthi - Professor and Department Chair, Bioengineering

Rosi Reed - Associate Professor, Physics

Brook Sawyer - Associate Professor, Education and Human Services, Teaching, Learning and Technology

Oliver Yao - Interim Deputy Provost for Graduate Education and Professor, Decision and Technology Analytics