Terry Murphy is concluding her role as deputy provost of academic affairs this summer as officials eliminate the post and will return next July as a faculty member after a yearlong sabbatical, Provost Brian Blake said.

The provost’s office will be comprised of vice provosts in areas of faculty affairs, research, enrollment management and diversity, in addition to new vice provost roles of undergraduate education and graduate studies, Blake said. He said his goal is for the vice provosts within his office, who will pick up the deputy provost’s responsibilities, to serve as the main head of each of the six areas.

Blake said Murphy has been an “amazing” partner and was one of the earliest officials that identified that administrators needed to start planning for and responding to the pandemic.

“While in the provost’s office, she improved the academic experience for students, supported deans and faculty and worked across units to create our instructional continuity program,” Blake said in an email sent to members of the provost’s office. “I am especially grateful for her recent academic planning efforts as a part of the University’s Back to Campus Initiative.”

Blake said many faculty and administrators did not fully understand the structure of his office when he first came to GW and which official could most appropriately respond to specific requests, like those related to the University Honors Program or graduate students.

Blake said Murphy was not interested in taking any of the vice provost roles. He added that she will be available during the summer to help with “informational requests.”

Blake said he will help continue the work Murphy has been doing to reorganize classrooms to align with social distancing protocols in the fall, along with Geneva Henry, the dean of libraries and academic innovation, Jared Johnson, the associate dean for academic technologies and deputy chief academic technology officer, and University Registrar Elizabeth Amundson.

Officials will fill the positions of vice provost of graduate studies and vice provost of undergraduate education soon although the searches have not started yet, he said. Blake said officials plan to hire for these positions through internal searches and said he will likely hold more responsibilities in these areas until a decision has been made.