NYU will soon have a permanent provost, a position that has been an interim role at the university since the summer of 2022. Students, faculty and staff will have the opportunity to share their thoughts on what they want from the new provost at engagement sessions scheduled for next week, according to a universitywide email sent to students from the search committee yesterday.

The Provost Search Committee, which formed in December, will hold two listening sessions over Zoom on Jan. 31 and Feb. 2. The committee comprises 12 members, including NYU Law dean Troy McKenzie and student government chair Ryan Carney.

“The challenges NYU and other higher education institutions face in the coming decade are substantial, which makes the community’s input all the more valuable as we go forward in the search process,” Michael Purugganan, chair of the committee and Silver School of Social Work professor, wrote in the Jan. 24 email.

After the previous provost, Katherine Fleming, announced she would step down from her position in April 2022 to preside over the J. Paul Getty Trust, former NYU president Andrew Hamilton appointed Georgina Dopico to the role in an interim capacity. Dopico has served as interim provost since August 2022.

The search committee, with the help of the search firm Isaacson, Miller, will select three candidates for Purugganan to consider. NYU also employed Isaacson, Miller in its past two presidential searches, leading to the appointments of Hamilton in 2016 and current university president Linda Mills last year.

NYU has used listening sessions to gather student input on senior leadership searches in the past, often with low student turnout. Only one student attended listening sessions for the 2022 presidential search and attendance was also low during the search for a new dean at the Tandon School of Engineering.

The provost, who acts as the university’s chief academic officer, helps oversee all academic departments at NYU. In addition to supervising deans and program directors, the provost collaborates with university financial advisers to manage the allocation of financial resources to individual academic programs. 

“The provost plays a vital role in the student learning experience by overseeing student success and student affairs,” Ryan Carney wrote to WSN. “Throughout the search, I encourage students to join the listening sessions, so the committee can hear from you and what you think we need in the next provost.”

The university did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Contact Bruna Horvath at [email protected].