The independent student newspaper of Northeastern University

The Huntington News

The independent student newspaper of Northeastern University

The Huntington News

The independent student newspaper of Northeastern University

The Huntington News

Provost search closed to open University debate

Provost+search+closed+to+open+University+debate

By Gus Castillo, News Correspondent

On Monday, Sept. 29, the Provost Search Committee held an open forum for undergraduate students on the second floor Mezzanine of the Curry Student Center.

Professor of Health Sciences at the Bouvé College of Health Sciences and co-chair of the search committee Carmen Sceppa headed the meeting, alongside student body president and fifth year economics major Noah Carville and former alumnus and current Electrical Engineering PhD student Sarah Brown. Both addressed students’ questions regarding the process of choosing a new provost, and concerns on whether candidates exemplify what the students want in their next provost.

“We are here to listen,” explained Sceppa, “we want to know what you want from a provost, and how you want to see the university grow in the next two, three, four or five years.”

As described by Sceppa, the first step in the process of finding a new provost is to gather information through forums open to students and faculty members. At these forums, members of the Northeastern University community can voice their opinions on what characteristics the committee should look for in their search.

“We have done two forums, one with faculty and graduates, and another with students,” said Sceppa. “And in addition to meeting with our individual departments, we have met with sixteen different groups.”

The second step includes selecting a large group of candidates, and, after a series of interviews with the candidates, the committee will choose qualifying candidates. Finally, the remaining candidates’ information will be sent to President Joseph E. Aoun, who will make the final decision. Despite detailing the committee’s plan of action, the co-chair made no mentions of potential candidates.

“The search will be confidential,” Sceppa said, “and will remain that way from beginning till end.” Sceppa and Carville explained to the students that the provost is in charge of hiring faculty, running academic affairs, and managing budget.

“We’re just trying to get a sense of what you want in a provost,” Carville, “and what we need to do before [is] ask want we want five or ten years from now, is to look at what the previous provost has done, and see what we’ve liked so far.”

Sceppa then opened the floor for student’s thoughts, questions, and comments. Students from different colleges and majors brought up an array of concerns, including opportunities for research, transition from school to co-op and vice versa, and developing communication between students and professors.

Fifth year economics major Chandana Cherukupalli brought to attention last year’s anti-union fiasco between deans and adjunct professors. “A lot of professors I know are concerned about the hostile environment that they’re working in, so I want a provost that can provide a more open environment here at Northeastern,” Cherukapalli said.

Photo by Maria Amasanti, Northeastern University

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