Two weeks after GW launched its nationwide search for the next provost, student and faculty leaders say they hope the University’s next chief academic officer prioritizes clear communication amid challenges in higher education.
Student leaders and faculty said they feel hopeful about the search for a new provost and stressed the importance that the new leader should protect the University’s current resources, build on its foundation and lead GW in the right direction, especially as the executive branch works to reshape the higher education landscape, and officials grapple with budget constraints. As the University conducts its search for the next chief academic officer — who officials expect to be in office by the start of next academic year — GW selected former School of Engineering & Applied Science Dean John Lach to serve as interim provost following former Provost Chris Bracey’s resignation in June.
University President Ellen Granberg announced in an email to the community earlier this month that she had begun GW’s search for a new provost and appointed a search committee of representatives from all colleges, key governance partners and her leadership team. She said in the email that the search committee will host a series of listening sessions in early September to hear about the community’s “aspirations” for GW’s next provost.
Fifteen members of the provost search committee, excluding members of the University’s executive leadership, declined to comment on what they are looking for in GW’s next provost, deferred their comment to the University or did not return a request for comment.
University spokesperson Shannon McClendon said officials are looking for a leader with “distinguished scholarly achievement” committed to academic excellence, student success and community engagement as they guide the University’s academic mission and advance its priorities outlined in the newly approved strategic framework that is set to launch this fall.
She said officials will publish a position description that will include the qualities, experiences and qualifications the University is looking for in its next provost following community listening sessions in September. She confirmed officials expect the GW’s next provost to take office before August 2026.
The provost is responsible for guiding GW’s overall academic enterprise and directly supervises the University’s 10 schools and colleges, institutes, museums and administration divisions. The provost also oversees the recruiting, hiring and advancement of GW’s more than 2,800 faculty members.
McClendon said the role of the search committee is to help develop the job posting, evaluate candidates and make recommendations to Granberg, while consultant and former Lehigh University President John Simon will advise the search.
Officials announced in early August they hired Simon, a current consultant for Education Executives, to conduct the search. Granberg said in an email Aug. 11 that Simon has a “proven track record” of successful placements for positions like the provost role and encouraged community members to send Simon their nominations or thoughts about what they’d like to see in GW’s new provost.
Denver Brunsman, associate professor and chair of the Department of History, said a strong candidate for the provost would be someone with a strong academic background with knowledge of running a university. He said GW’s next provost should know how faculty should be treated and have budgetary and political knowledge to protect the University’s mission and resources, given the uncertainty in higher education that could cause low morale.
While holding the role in the interim, Lach is tasked with guiding GW’s 10 schools and colleges through budget cuts to combat a yearslong structural deficit, while the University revises its budget model. Lach is also involved in launching and implementing GW’s newly approved strategic framework this fall and navigating the University’s reaccreditation process.
Lach charged Vice Provost for Enrollment and Student Success Jay Goff with creating a student loan task force, officials announced at a Faculty Senate meeting earlier this month. The task force will meet throughout the fall semester to identify how students, particularly at the graduate level, can safely engage in the private loan market as universities brace for the termination of the Grad PLUS program next July.
“Part of the challenge for the next person will be to build on the foundation that exists and in the current environment, trying to protect what we have and our research funding, our endowment and other resources at the University,” Brunsman said.
Brunsman said the provost needs to set a positive yet realistic tone to deliver information to community members in a clear way by exuding confidence and authority. He said the new provost should send regular emails to community members with updates or hold town hall events about particular issues the University is facing.
“A provost needs to be an excellent communicator,” Brunsman said. “That’s probably one of the most important aspects of the job.”
Brunsman said the University’s last several provosts were “effective” as community members didn’t express “serious dissatisfaction” with their leadership. He said GW’s next provost will be challenged with protecting the University’s research funding and endowment.
Eric Lawrence — the chair of the Department of Political Science, who previously served on the search committee to appoint former Provost Brian Blake in 2019 — said the next provost should be able to make hard decisions for the good of the University, even when they aren’t always popular. He said the provost needs to explain the decisions they are going to make, even if some may be painful but essential for the betterment of the University.
He said the search firm’s role is to put portfolios together for the search committee members to conduct “airport interviews,” or short interviews by a search committee, where members narrow down applicants and select a small number of candidates to recommend to the University president.
Lawrence said the prior committee he served on had a couple of planning meetings to write the position description for the provost role, something he described as a “big part” of the committee’s role. Granberg said in her email to the community earlier this month that her search committee is being co-chaired by former Trustee and GW Alumni Chair Madeleine Jacobs and Faculty Senate Executive Committee Chair Katrin Schultheiss.
The committee includes 21 members and the two co-chairs, totaling a committee of 23 GW community members. Among the committee are three administrators, two deans, two members of the board of trustees, one staff council member, two faculty members from the Columbian College of Arts & Sciences, the associate dean of libraries and academic innovation, two students, including a Student Government Association senator and one faculty member from the other eight schools and colleges.
SGA President Ethan Lynne said he hopes the next provost is present on campus and engages with students to see the issues the University is facing firsthand, like costs of attendance, rather than hearing about issues for the first time at one-on-one meetings with SGA leadership. He said he felt a “lack of engagement” from Bracey’s office, which stemmed from the fact that a lot of students never met with Bracey face-to-face.
“I don’t think that’s good for someone that’s in a position that is so influential on students’ lives and success while they’re here,” Lynne said.
Lynne said the SGA president and vice president typically meet with the provost once a month to discuss academic-focused priorities. He said he would like the next provost to address GW’s rising cost of attendance and focus on prioritizing policies aimed at boosting students’ general career readiness upon graduation.
“Those are the two things that I plan on coordinating with the new provost the most on,” Lynne said.
