Provost Steps Down, Plans To Teach Dennis O'Shea --------------------------------- Homewood News and Information Now that he's stepping down after more than four whirlwind years as provost, Joe Cooper may get a chance to catch his breath. But there is that article on congressional leadership he's been chafing to write. And there are those two book contracts to fulfill. On second thought, maybe catching his breath will have to wait. Cooper, provost and vice president for academic affairs since 1991, has announced he will resign effective Jan. 1. He will spend a sabbatical year on his research and writing projects and then will teach in the Political Science Department at Homewood, where he holds the rank of professor. He said he decided to step down as chief academic officer because Hopkins is in the process of completing its search for a president to replace William C. Richardson, who left the university last summer. "It's a time of transition and it seems to me an appropriate time," Cooper said. Cooper came to Hopkins after 24 years at Rice University, where he was, at various times, chairman of political science, dean of the School of Social Sciences and president of the Institute for Policy Analysis. "In his nearly five years at Hopkins, Cooper has made significant contributions to the university," interim president Daniel Nathans said in a letter to the faculty. "I know that I speak for our entire community when I say that we will miss Joe Cooper and we wish him well as he embarks on his sabbatical leave." Nathans cited Cooper's organization and leadership of the Committee for the 21st Century, a recent university-wide faculty effort to identify and tackle the major challenges facing Hopkins and other research universities. "We're in a decade of great change and a decade in which there are so many opportunities as well as problems that are not just divisional anymore," Cooper said. "In a sense, that was the lesson that the C-21 process succeeded in getting over to the university finally, that in the area of technology or part-time education or partnerships, that there needs to be an interdivisional agenda, to everybody's benefit." The committee's 23 recommendations have already led to major initiatives in information technology, including the appointment of a chief information officer, the construction of a university-wide high-speed network and a provost's office program to encourage the development of new classroom applications for computer technology. "I think there was some initial skepticism toward the C-21 process," Cooper said. "Initially, people thought that there was no need for it or that whatever it proposed wouldn't be instituted. "Over time, the whole terms of conversation and expectation have changed," Cooper said. "The leading thrust of it has been information technology, because that's the case where it's clearest, where the interdivisional necessities are the clearest." Follow-up work is under way, he said, on other C-21 recommendations, in areas including international academic initiatives, undergraduate education and part-time education. Nathans also commended Cooper for heading searches that led to the appointment of "outstanding deans and directors" in the five Hopkins schools that had turnovers in leadership during Cooper's years as provost and at the Eisenhower Library and the Johns Hopkins University Press. Cooper said he enjoyed promoting research opportunities at Hopkins, both for students--he started a program to fund original research projects for 40 undergraduates a year--and for the faculty. "I think that this is an excellent faculty," he said. "I have really enjoyed getting to know this faculty, personally, getting to know their research. I've taken some pleasure and some pride in working with them. I think they know that, too." ----------------------------------------------------------------- Arts and Sciences Dean Steven Knapp to Serve University as Interim Provost Steven Knapp, dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, will serve as interim provost and vice president for academic affairs beginning Jan. 1, interim president Daniel Nathans has announced. Knapp will remain as dean, filling both jobs until a new president is in office and decides how to configure his or her administration. Knapp said he will continue outgoing provost Joseph Cooper's work in implementing the recommendations of the C-21 report and encouraging cooperation and collaboration among the university's traditionally independent schools and divisions. "The C-21 report itself is a tribute to the work of Joe Cooper," Knapp said. "I certainly will be following up on that work to ensure that the university continues to benefit from the opportunities it presents." Knapp said he has begun consulting with Cooper on how both the provost's and dean's offices staffs should be organized to make most efficient use of his time while he holds both posts. "I'm confident it can be done," Knapp said. Knapp--recruited to Hopkins in a national search led by Cooper--joined Hopkins in 1994 after 16 years on the faculty at the University of California, Berkeley, where he was a member of the English Department. A 1973 graduate of Yale University, he earned his doctorate in English from Cornell University in 1981. -----------------------------------------------------------------