Clarification appendedUniversity President Frederick Lawrence has created a search committee to look for the next provost, according to a campuswide e-mail he sent out Jan. 5. The committee is made up of six faculty members, three staff members, a trustee, a graduate student and one undergraduate student, according to the e-mail.

The committee has also partnered with the search firm Storbeck/Pimentel and Associates, LLC, the same firm that helped identify Lawrence as a candidate for president, to recommend potential candidates for the position.

In his e-mail, Lawrence said that the committee would search for the provost and senior vice president for academic affairs.

The provost search committee, which is chaired by Prof. Sacha Nelson (BIOL), includes Ph.D. candidate Jane Harries, Student Union Director of Academic Affairs Marla Merchut '12, Prof. John Plotz (ENG), Chair of East Asian Studies Prof. Aida Yuen Wong (FA), Prof. David Cunningham (SOC), Prof. Anita Hill (Heller), Prof. Carol Osler (IBS), Senior Vice President for Finance and Chief Financial Officer Frances Drolette, Dean of Academic Services Kim Godsoe, Vice Provost for Academic Affairs Michaele Whelan and member of the provost Board of Trustees member and Heller School Board of Overseers Thomas Glynn.

In an e-mail to the Justice, Lawrence said that the search for a new provost is "now is under way." Current provost Marty Krauss announced her plan to step down from her position as provost and vice president for academic affairs by June 2011, according to a Sept. 7, 2010 issue of the Justice.

According to a press release from the committee members, the committee "hopes to consider a diverse field of candidates from inside and outside the University."

The press release outlined a plan to identify potential candidates. The committee aims to recruit interested individuals by placing a brief advertisement in major venues.

In addition, the committee will also accept nominations.

Those who are interested will receive documents, which the committee is currently working on, that will fully describe the University and the provost's responsibilities based on the report from the Administrative Structure Advisory Committee.

Once 10 to 20 candidates are chosen, the committee will conduct in-person interviews and will ask outstanding candidates for references.

Lawrence will be provided with a final short list of candidates from the committee.

The press release also stated that Brandeis community leaders would also be consulted towards the end of the completely confidential search process.

When asked if students would be offered opportunities to place input in the search, the president wrote in an e-mail to the Justice that he would speak with the committee about ways to gain input from "across the community, including from students beyond the two now on the committee. ... That effort needs to be balanced with confidentiality concerns, of course," he explained. "But I am sure we can find the correct balance."

The committee stressed the aspect of confidentiality in its press release.

"Many top candidates will not apply if they are not promised strict confidentiality," stated the press release.

It went on to explain that candidates would suffer the risk of not being taken seriously for other positions if it was public knowledge that they have already been "turned down somewhere."

Lawrence wrote in his e-mail that it is the committee's hope and expectation to find a new provost in by the next academic year.


-Fiona Lockyer contributed reporting.

Clarification: The article originally implied that the Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs were separate positions. This is not the case. The article was edited to reflect this fact.