Final UW Provost Finalist Set for Campus Visit

The third of three finalists for the position of provost/vice president for academic affairs at the University of Wyoming is scheduled to visit campus this week.

Jeffrey Thompson, dean of the College of Science at the University of Nevada-Reno, will give a public presentation Friday, May 27, from 2-3:15 p.m. in the Berry Biodiversity Conservation Center auditorium. To learn more about him, go here.

Terence Parker, professor of mechanical engineering and former provost/executive vice president of Colorado School of Mines, spoke on campus last Thursday. Kate Miller, dean of the College of Geosciences at Texas A&M University, gave her presentation Tuesday.

For each finalist, the public presentation caps more than two days of activities on campus, including meetings with President Laurie Nichols, the provost search committee, vice presidents, deans, the Faculty Senate and Staff Senate executive committees, students and others.

The presentations will be captured using UW’s WyoCast system, which will allow near-real-time viewing as well as archiving for later viewing. The WyoCast link for Thompson’s public presentation is https://wyocast.uwyo.edu/WyoCast/Play/cc0b07caeaeb4dcd988a37efebb145431d. All of the recorded public presentations will be available at https://wyocast.uwyo.edu/WyoCast/Catalog/Full/b3edf27df1a34752b149e95d7c7dd95621.

In addition, Thompson’s meeting with UW associate deans, directors and department heads -- scheduled at 10 a.m. Friday, May 27, in the Berry Center auditorium -- will be available through WyoCast by going to https://wyocast.uwyo.edu/WyoCast/Play/b9271b070f1e4a4b836cc1d348c1e2241d.

The provost search committee welcomes input on each of the candidates. Those wishing to submit their evaluations of Thompson may do so confidentially here.

The provost search process is similar to that used by the UW Board of Trustees in its selection of Nichols. The committee has sought input from campus constituencies and established desired qualifications and characteristics; has reviewed and interviewed applicants; and has arrived at a list of finalists. The president will recommend a selection to the Board of Trustees.

The provost/vice president for academic affairs is the second-ranking leadership position at the university. Current Vice President for Academic Affairs David Jones will return to his position on the faculty of the College of Health Sciences.