The Hatchet’s editorial board explains the criteria for the new provost search and the challenges that provost will face.

The ideal candidate should be someone who has demonstrated effective leadership in an environment of higher education. This quality is made even more important by what we see as a recent lack of leadership from GW’s administration. Visibility has become a serious issue for this administration, as for many students University President Steven Knapp remains an abstract figure. Certainly, we expect the University’s top official has many job responsibilities beyond simply chatting with undergrads at J Street, but it is important that the University’s top leadership be actively engaged with the student body. The opening of a new position gives the administration the chance to fill this leadership deficit with a person more willing to connect the administration, student body and faculty.