MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — WVU’s next provost is getting set to arrive in Morgantown.
The WVU Board of Governors met incoming Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Beverly Wendland for the first time during its meeting Friday.
Wendland, an accomplished cell biologist, most recently served as senior advisor to the chancellor at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri; she begins work in Morgantown July 1. Before her official start, she’ll lead the national search for a new vice president of research.
It’s one of a number of searches that are underway at WVU.
Interim Provost Paul Kreider provided the BOG an update on filling three dean positions.
Steptoe & Johnson attorney and former CEO Susan Brewer has led the WVU College of Law since the departure of Amelia Smith Rinehart last July. Kreider said Brewer will stay through the end of the year, and the search will be extended. Josh Hall, the dean of the Mylan Puskar Chambers College, will spearhead that effort.
“The steadfast leadership that interim dean Susan Brewer has provided the WVU College of Law over the past seven months will continue, and she will remain in her role until December 31, 2026,” Kreider said.
At the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, Gregory Dunaway will leave his post as dean on June 30. Kreider said the search will continue under the direction of select faculty and staff.
“The Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education, Evan Widders, was appointed to co-chair the search committee with College of Creative Arts and Media Dean Keith Jackson,” Kreider said. “Greenwood Asher is partnering in the search with us to attract a competitive pool of finalists.”
The search for the next Dean of Libraries and Press is winding down. Four candidates have been interviewed on campus, and the selection is expected to be announced in the next couple of weeks.
“Earlier this month we hosted the four candidates for the Dean of Libraries and Press,” Kreider said. “We had a great deal of engagement in each session with the candidates, and I want to extend my thanks to everyone that participated.”
WVU President Michael T. Benson gave a detailed report to the BOG Friday.
Benson said the university plans to continue to pursue membership in the American Association of Universities (AAU). He revisited a 1962 speech delivered by President John F. Kennedy when he talked about the boldness of making a commitment to go to the moon.
“As we talk about our AAU quest and the moon shot to try and get there is going to make us better on multiple fronts and one that we cannot postpone,” Benson said.
He said the journey to acceptance will improve graduation rates, lead to more faculty members in national academies, and result in more faculty citations in academic journals. He said the process will include an examination of processes and procedures that will improve the overall quality of the institution.
“The last three national championship games in football have all featured AAU institutions—Michigan and Washington; Ohio State and Notre Dame; and this year Miami and Indiana,” Benson said. ” If you were to collectively take their R&D dollars it’s in the billions of dollars for what they do every year.”