Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs & Provost Search Launched — Feb. 4, 2025

February 5, 2025 Provost Search

Dear Faculty and Staff:

We have launched the search for our next Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost (EVPAA). The EVPAA and Provost serves on the president’s executive leadership team and plays a vital role as the leader of the academic enterprise for the University of Maine and University of Maine at Machias. We are seeking an innovative, accomplished, and visionary leader who possesses the credentials and experience to serve in this integral role at a land, sea, and space grant, R1 university, and someone who will be able to assist with strategic re-envisioning implementations.

The search will be supported by Academic Search, a nationally prominent firm specializing in higher education leadership searches, led by senior consultants Dr. Cynthia Patterson and Dr. Maria Thompson. This is a national search with the objective of developing the most talented pool of candidates possible with a goal of announcing the next EVPAA and Provost in time for a July 2025 start.

Amanda Klemmer (Faculty Senate President and Associate Professor, School of Biology and Ecology, College of Earth, Life, and Health Sciences) and Habib Dagher (Executive Director of the Advanced Structures and Composites Center and Professor of Civil Engineering, Maine College of Engineering and Computing) have agreed to co-chair the search and Tanya Pinkham (Assistant Director for Development and Administration, Institute of Medicine) will be staffing the search. The members of the search committee include the following:

  • Henri Akono – Associate Professor of Accounting, Maine Business School
  • John Bear Mitchell – Native American Waiver and Educational Program Coordinator, University of Maine System; Wabanaki Center Outreach and Student Development Coordinator, UMaine; Lecturer of Wabanaki studies and Multicultural Studies, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
  • Deborah Bouchard – Director of the Aquaculture Research Institute and Associate Professor of Aquatic Animal Health with UMaine Cooperative Extension
  • Hannah Carter – Associate Provost for Online and Continuing Education; Dean and Chief Executive Officer of UMaine Cooperative Extension
  • Kevin Coughlin – Vice President of Enrollment Management
  • Laura Curioli – President, Graduate Student Government
  • Sandra De Urioste-Stone – Associate Professor of Nature-based Tourism, College of Earth, Life, and Health Sciences and Assistant Vice President for Research
  • Justin Dimmel – Associate Dean for Academics and Student Engagement; Associate Professor of Mathematics Education and Instructional Technology, College of Education and Human Development
  • Emily Haddad – Dean and Professor of English, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
  • Liliana Herakova – Associate Professor, Department of Communication and Journalism, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
  • Eric Jones – Associate Professor of Botany; Co-Chair of the Division of Integrative and Marine Sciences, UMaine Machias
  • Anila Karunakar – Director for Diversity and Inclusion, Student Life
  • Renee Kelly – Associate Vice President of Strategic Partnerships, Innovation and Engagement
  • Ezekiel Kimball – Interim Dean and Professor, College of Education and Human Development
  • Michelle Rogers – Chief of Staff to the President
  • Daisy Singh – Dean of Libraries
  • Jeffrey St. John – Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs, University of Maine System
  • Keegan Tripp – President, Undergraduate Student Government
  • Yifeng Zhu – Department Chair of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Norman Stetson Professor, Maine College of Engineering and Computing

The Search Committee will be responsible for reviewing applications, conducting interviews, and making recommendations to me.

The search profile can be found here. I encourage you to share it widely. Although nominations are not required to be considered for this position, if you know of outstanding candidates, you may submit confidential nominations by sending an email to UMaineProvost@academicsearch.org. Please include the nominee’s full name, position, institution/organization, and email address with your nomination.

Thank you to those who participated in the December listening sessions with consultants. There will be more opportunities to be involved over the next few months and I will continue to update you at significant stages throughout the search process via a website that will be launched soon.

Sincerely,

Joan Ferrini-Mundy

President