A national search is well under way to identify a
successor to Steven Knapp, the university's
provost and senior vice president of academic affairs, who
will be stepping down this summer to assume the presidency
of George Washington University.
The universitywide search committee appointed by
President William R. Brody and
chaired by Michael Klag, dean of the Johns Hopkins
Bloomberg School of Public Health, is looking to establish
as broad, diverse and distinguished a pool of candidates as
possible.
Klag said that the 12-member committee has already
received a "robust" number of "very impressive"
nominees.
The group will identify and evaluate candidates for
presentation to the president and the board of trustees.
President Brody said he hopes a successor will be selected
by July 31.
Knapp, who has served in his current role at Johns
Hopkins for the past 10 years, will take office at George
Washington on Aug. 1.
Knapp came to Hopkins in 1994 as dean of the School of
Arts and Sciences and was appointed the 11th provost of
Johns Hopkins in October 1996, after serving in the
position on an interim basis since January.
As provost, Knapp has commenced many institutionwide
initiatives, given special priority to the university's
role in the community and been a key player to extend Johns
Hopkins' global reach.
"Dr. Knapp has done an outstanding job," Brody said.
"He's been a wonderful provost. He's set the bar for the
type of person we are trying to recruit. Steve is
universally respected and liked and has done a phenomenal
job for this university during challenging times. We will
certainly miss him a great deal."
The provost and senior vice president for academic
affairs is the university's chief academic officer and
reports to the president.
The individual's primary responsibilities are to
provide leadership for the university's nine academic
divisions, the Applied Physics Laboratory and numerous
interdisciplinary research centers and institutes, and to
work with the president in representing Johns Hopkins to
all of its external constituents.
As the chief academic officer, the provost develops
and implements strategic initiatives with the president,
leads the university's budgeting process and works with the
deans and directors in the creation and oversight of
interdivisional programs and the coordination of the
university's regional, national and international
activities.
The provost also serves as secretary of the Academic
Affairs Committee of the board of trustees and as the
liaison to the board of trustees for academic initiatives
and issues.
In addition, he or she will be expected to play a
leading role in the development of new multischool and
multidisciplinary initiatives.
Klag said that ideal candidate will be a strategic and
visionary leader with a demonstrated commitment to academic
excellence and a proven record of inspiring and leading
faculty, staff and students.
"We need someone who will command respect from our
faculty, an articulate individual with a record of
scholarly achievement who can lead by persuasion," Klag
said. "I also think we need to recruit someone who enjoys
the intellectual challenges of interacting with a diversity
of schools, such as we have here at Johns Hopkins."
The Johns Hopkins University, regarded as among the
nation's most highly acclaimed comprehensive research
universities, currently enrolls 19,000 students and offers
approximately 230 degree programs (baccalaureate, master's,
doctoral and professional).
Members of the provost search committee are Klag; Chi
Dang, vice dean for research, School of Medicine; Julian
Gray, Conservatory faculty, Peabody Institute; Michael
Hanchard, professor, Political Science, KSAS; Mariale
Hardiman, assistant dean, Department of Teacher Development
and Leadership, School of Education; Charlene Hayes, vice
president for human resources; James McGill, senior vice
president for finance and administration; Charles Meneveau,
professor, Mechanical Engineering, WSE; Gayle Page,
professor and director of the Center for Nursing Research,
School of Nursing; Bruce Parrott, professor and director of
the Russian and Eurasian Studies Program, SAIS; John
Sommerer, director, Science and Technology, APL; Elaine
Worzala, professor, Real Estate, Carey Business School.
The search committee is being assisted by Russell
Reynolds Associates. Nominations and inquiries should be
directed to Ilene H. Nagel at
jhu-provost@RussellReynolds.com. Applications from
women and underrepresented minorities are actively
encouraged.