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JANUARY 2003

What’s a “Provost”?
by Joan Baum, Ph.D

Once upon a time someone noticed that when you go to buy large olives you have a hard time trying to distinguish large from giant, colossal, or super.

Then there’s the confusion about titles in the financial industry: what’s a CEO that’s not a COO or the company president or chairman of the board, and who gets indicted first as most (ir)responsible? With a new academic semester about to start, add this timely query: What’s a provost and how does he or she differ from a vice president, dean, CAO or other top-level academic officer? The average student—not to mention faculty member—does not know what a provost is or does. One wag—a former provost from CUNY–suggests that a provost is essentially a vice president given a ceremonial title in order to make more money.

“Provost” comes from the past participle of L. praepositus, meaning “placed at the head” or “set before or over.” Early use was ecclesiastical: someone who was the chief dignitary of a collegiate or cathedral chapter, where “collegiate” was understood as part of the Anglican university system, which well into the 19th century was designed to prepare men for the professions, which meant the church or law. A provost was the administrative official charged with policy and procedures oversight, the person who made sure that the university carried out its curricular duties with proper regard for theological and moral imperatives. But students and administrators take note: the word early on also meant head of a prison! (And a restricted use in Scotland signified a magistrate of a “burgh,” a kind of mayor.) Put all these meanings together and you get provost: an administrator who is second in line to the top person at an institution where there are multiple divisions or departments. This extended jurisdiction explains why small colleges tend not to have provosts.

According to Marymount Manhattan College (MMC) President Judson R. Shaver, whose former position was as Provost at Iona College in New Rochelle, NY, the position of provost exists typically where there is more than one academic division dean. Of course, he notes, different schools make their own arrangements, but where there is a provost that person is typically the number two officer, after the president, and acts for the president in his stead. Where a school has several academic divisions (Science, Arts and Humanities, Social Sciences, etc.) it usually has an academic vice president to whom the deans of these divisions report and that academic vice president then reports to the provost, who in turn reports to the president. At small liberal arts colleges such as MMC where there is no provost, the second in command tends to be the Academic Vice President who is the chief academic officer (CAO), a kind of first among equals where there are other vice presidents (Administration, Student Affairs, Institutional Development). As for distinguishing among all those other academic ranks, gradations and titles that universities hold dear—special presidential assistants, executive assistants, and associates and deans of all kind and degree—well, the curious are well advised to go with the flowchart.#

 

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