Provost is the title of a senior academic administrator at many institutions of higher education in the United States and Canada, the equivalent of Deputy Vice Chancellor or Pro-Vice-Chancellor at certain institutions in the British Isles such as UCL and Trinity College Dublin, and the head of certain ancient colleges (e. An academic administration is a branch of University or College employees responsible for the maintenance and supervision of the institution and separate from the Higher education is Education that is provided by universities, vocational universities, Community colleges Liberal arts colleges The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page In a University, an assistant to a Vice-Chancellor is called a Pro-Vice-Chancellor (also Pro Vice-Chancellor or Deputy Vice-Chancellor) University College London ( UCL) is a multi-faculty university institution based in the United Kingdom and a constituent college of the University of London Trinity College Dublin ( TCD; Irish Coláiste na Tríonóide Baile Átha Cliath; Latin: Collegium Sacrosanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae g. in Oxbridge: Oriel College, Oxford; Worcester College, Oxford; King's College, Cambridge). Oxbridge was originally a fictional composite of the University of '''Ox'''ford and the University of Cam'''bridge''' in England, and the term is now Oriel College, located in Oriel Square, Oxford, is the fifth oldest of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England King's College Cambridge is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Even within these different types of appointments, the precise role of a provost varies from institution to institution.
In most North American research universities and independent colleges, the provost is generally the chief academic officer. A university is an institution of Higher education and Research, which grants Academic degrees in a variety of subjects College ( Latin collegium) is a term most often used today to denote an Educational Institution. The incumbent is responsible to the institution's chief executive officer (variously called president, Chancellor, or rector) and governing board or boards (variously called the board of trustees, the board of regents, or the corporation) for oversight of all educational affairs and activities, including research and academic personnel. A Chancellor is the head of a University. Other titles are sometimes used such as President or Rector. The deans of a university's various schools, colleges, or faculties, generally report to the provost or report jointly to the chief executive officer and the provost. Various interdisciplinary units and academic support functions, such as libraries, student services, admissions, academic facilities, and information technology, generally fall within a provost's administrative purview. Finally, provosts often receive staff support or delegate line responsibility for certain administrative functions to one or more subordinates variously called "assistant provost", "associate provost", "vice provost", or "deputy provost".
The specific duties and areas of responsibility for a provost vary from institution to institution. Invariably, provosts are drawn from the tenured faculty of the institution or from among a pool of professional administrators (with academic credentials) at other institutions. In many, although not all, public and private North American universities and colleges, the provost (or functional equivalent) is the second-ranking officer in the administrative hierarchy. Very often, the provost serves as acting chief executive officer during a vacancy in that office or when the incumbent is absent from campus for prolonged periods. In these institutions, the title of provost is often combined with those of "senior vice president", "executive vice president", "executive vice chancellor", or the like, to denote that officer's high standing.
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Other titles and uses
Since the title provost rarely comes into use outside of higher education (for an exception, see the ecclesiastical provost), some officers also carry a more descriptive functional title such as "academic vice president", "vice president for academic affairs", or "vice president for education". A provost is a senior official in a number of Christian churches At many independent liberal arts colleges, the chief academic officer carries the title of provost or "dean of the college".
There are other uses of the term provost in American higher education. At some multi-campus (generally state-run) universities, provost may be the title held by the head of branch campus; for example, the provosts of the Newark and Camden campuses of Rutgers University in New Jersey. Rutgers The State University of New Jersey (also known as Rutgers University) is the largest institution for higher education in the state of New Jersey Sometimes the chief academic or medical officer of a university-affiliated medical centre holds the title of provost. In some universities, the chief administrative officer of a large academic division may hold a provostial title. Finally, in some colleges and universities, the title of provost (and the function of deputy to the president or chancellor) may be separate from the function of chief academic officer.
"Provost" is still the style of the principals of Queen's, Oriel and Worcester Colleges at Oxford, King's College, Cambridge, and Trinity College, Dublin, and of the chairman of the governors of Eton College. The Queen's College, founded 1341 is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Oriel College, located in Oriel Square, Oxford, is the fifth oldest of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England King's College Cambridge is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity College Dublin ( TCD; Irish Coláiste na Tríonóide Baile Átha Cliath; Latin: Collegium Sacrosanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae The Provost is the chairman of the Governing Body of Eton College. Eton College, or just Eton, is a world-famous British Independent school for boys founded in 1440 by King Henry VI.
History
The first use of the title provost in American and Canadian higher education is unclear. At the University of Pennsylvania and Columbia University, the title provost dates to the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, respectively. The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn) is a private University located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Columbia University is a private University in the United States and a member of the Ivy League. At the University of Pennsylvania, the administrative head of the university was titled provost until the 1930s, when the Board of Trustees created a separate office of president and re-designated the provost as chief academic officer and subordinate to the new presidency. At Columbia University, the Board of Trustees established the office of provost in 1811, only to abolish it five years later. Year 1811 ( MDCCCXI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year The Trustees and the president of the university re-established the office of provost in 1912. Year 1912 ( MCMXII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year starting Although the precise title of the office has changed over time, the responsibility as Columbia's chief academic officer has remained constant.
Other North American universities and colleges created provostships during and after World War II when dramatic increases in undergraduate enrollments (due to the GI Bill) and the increased complexity of higher education administration, led many chief executive officers to adopt a more corporate governing structure. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The GI Bill (officially titled Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 PL346 58 Statutes at Large 284 provided for college or vocational education for returning By the 1960s, most of the other Ivy League institutions (Dartmouth, Yale, Princeton, Cornell, and Brown) had provosts (or equivalents), as did other private research universities such as the University of Chicago, Stanford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Tufts University, Wake Forest University and Duke University. The 1960s decade refers to the years from the beginning of 1960 to the end of 1969 The Ivy League is an Athletic conference comprising eight private institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. Dartmouth College ( is a private, Coeducational University located in Hanover, New Hampshire, U Princeton University is a private Coeducational research university located in Princeton, New Jersey. Brown University is a highly esteemed private University located in Providence, Rhode Island and is a member of the Ivy League. The University of Chicago is a Private university located principally in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago. Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly known as Stanford University or simply Stanford, is a private Research university located in Wake Forest University is a private, coeducational University in North Carolina, founded in 1834 Duke University is a private Research University located in Durham, North Carolina, United States.
At Harvard University, the office of provost has had two distinct incarnations. The office's first incarnation was during World War II and the immediate postwar era. James Bryant Conant, the president of the university from 1933 to 1953, asked the Harvard Corporation (the more senior of the two governing boards) to create the office of provost in October 1945, at time when he (Conant) spent a great deal of time in Washington, D. James Bryant Conant ( March 26, 1893 &ndash February 11, 1978) was a Chemist, educational administrator and government official C. as chairman of the National Defense Research Committee. The National Defense Research Committee (NDRC was an organization created "to coordinate supervise and conduct scientific research on the problems underlying the development Conant appointed historian Paul Buck, the dean of the Faculty of Arts of Sciences (FAS), to concurrently serve as provost. (The original legislation required that the provost be concurrently dean of FAS. ) As provost and dean, Buck had oversight of FAS (which includes Harvard College, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, the Extension School, the Summer School, and what is now called the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences) and its affiliated laboratories, research centres, and museums. However, he had no authority over Harvard's professional schools (at that time, the Divinity School, the Law School, the Faculty of Medicine, the School of Public Health, and the Graduate Schools of Business Administration, Design, Education, and Public Administration). The provost's office was eliminated when Conant retired from Harvard's presidency in 1953. During the presidencies of Nathan Marsh Pusey (1953–1971) and Derek C. Nathan Marsh Pusey ( 4 April 1907 &ndash 14 November 2001) was a prominent American educator Bok (1971–1993), the deans of Harvard's nine faculties reported directly to the president, with the dean of FAS being primus inter pares. Primus inter pares ( Latin) or First among equals is a phrase which indicates that a person is the most senior of a group of people The second incarnation began in 1993, when then-Harvard President Neil Rudenstine asked the Corporation to recreate the provostship as a second university-wide academic officer other than the president. A section of Harvard's 1997 Re-accreditation Report for the New England Commission of Colleges and Schools reads:
"The Provost at Harvard acts as an extension of the President. He is the second academic officer, after the President, having purview of the entire University. The Provost has special responsibility for fostering intellectual interactions across the University, including the five Interfaculty Initiatives (environment, ethics and the professions, schooling and children, mind/brain/behavior, and health policy). The Provost also acts to help improve the quality and efficiency of central services organized at Harvard under the aegis of the Vice Presidents. "
See also
- administrators: trustee, president, vice president, chancellor, principal, dean
- other: college, faculty (university), professor, tenure, curriculum, graduate student
References
- Freeland, Richard M. Trustee is a Legal term that refers to a holder of property on behalf of a beneficiary. President is a Title leaders of Organizations companies, Trade unions universities, and countries. __FORCETOC__ For the Vice President of the United States, their roles and other information see Vice President of the United States. A Chancellor is the head of a University. Other titles are sometimes used such as President or Rector. The Principal is the Chief executive and the chief academic officer of a University or College in certain parts of the Commonwealth In Academic administration, a dean is a person with significant authority over a specific academic unit or over a specific area of concern or both College ( Latin collegium) is a term most often used today to denote an Educational Institution. A faculty is a division within a University. The concept of a university with different faculties for different subjects dates back to Al-Azhar University, which had The meaning of the word professor ( Latin: professor, person who professes to be an expert in some art or science teacher of highest rank) varies Tenure commonly refers to life tenure in a job and specifically to a senior Academic 's Contractual right not to have their position terminated In formal education a curriculum (plural curricula) is the set of courses and their content offered at a School or University. See also Postgraduate Training in Education Postgraduate education (synonymous in North America with graduate education, and sometimes described (1992). Academia's Golden Age: Universities in Massachusetts, 1945–1970. New York: Oxford University Press.
- Keller, Morton & Keller, Phyllis (2001). Making Harvard Modern: The Rise of America's University. New York: Oxford University Press.
- Lloyd, Mark. "A History of Penn Provosts". Penn Archives and Record Center. http://www.upenn.edu/provost/history.html
- "History of Cornell's Provosts". Cornell University Office of the Provost. http://www.cornell.edu/provost/history.cfm
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