Provost/Chief Academic Officers

Robert Morris University has appointed Dr. Joseph Zimmer as its new Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs. Dr. Zimmer will be joining RMU from St. Bonaventure University where he has served as Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs since 2015. He also served as interim president in 2021-2022 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to serving as Provost at St. Bonaventure, Dr. Zimmer taught in the University's School of Education for 22 years and served as its dean from 2011-2015. Zimmer earned his bachelor's degree in English, a master's degree in English Education, and a doctorate in Reading Education from the State University of New York at Buffalo. Read more here.

Dr. Brent Thomas has been appointed as the new Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs of Emporia State University. Dr. Thomas has ascended the ranks at Emporia State having first joined the University in 2006 when he was hired as an Associate Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences. In 2014, he was appointed as the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and since September 2022 has been serving as the Interim Provost. Dr. Thomas began his career at Emporia State in 2006 after earning his Ph.D. in biological sciences from Mississippi State University and serving on faculty at University of South Carolina Upstate.  Read more here.

William Jewell College has appointed Dr. Daniel Jasper as its new Vice President for Academic Affairs. Dr. Jasper currently serves as the Associate Provost and Dean, College of Arts and Sciences at Moravian University (formerly known as Moravian College). Dr. Jasper’s career at Moravian spans nearly 20 years with positions of increasing academic leadership and responsibility. His prior positions include Dean of the School of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, Department Chair of Sociology and Anthropology, and Professor of Sociology. He holds a Ph.D. and M.A. from the New School for Social Research.

Elon University has appointed Dr. Rebecca Kohn as its new Provost. Dr. Kohn currently serves as the Dean of Arts and Sciences and Senior Vice Provost at Arcadia University. An accomplished scholar and researcher in the field of biology, Dr. Kohn brings more than 20 years of academic and administrative leadershipto her new role. She joined the faculty at Arcadia in 2017 as dean of the university’s College of Arts and Sciences and was named interim provost and special assistant to the president the following year. She became vice provost for academic planning and faculty affairs in 2019 and then took on the role of senior vice provost earlier this year, while continuing to serve as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Kohn holds a doctorate in biology from Johns Hopkins University and a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from Dartmouth College. Dr. Kohn will assume her new position in January 2023.  Read more here.

Lincoln University (MO) has announced the appointment of Dr. Michael J. Self, Sr., as its new Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs. Dr. Self will assume his new role on August 1, 2022. Dr. Self currently serves as the Assistant Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies at Metropolitan State University in St. Paul, MN. Prior to this, Dr. Self was the Vice President for Assessment at the Community College of Allegheny County in Pittsburgh, PA. Dr. Self's experience has enabled him to better understand what is required for effective teaching and learning. He has coordinated faculty tenure processes, facilitated the implementation of professional development activities for both faculty and staff, and led the development of an academic innovation fund. Dr. Self holds a Master of Science in Mathematics, a Master of Arts in Theological Studies and his Doctor of Philosophy in Science and Mathematics Education from Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge, LA. Read more here.

Mayville State University has announced the appointment of Dr. Brian Huschle as its new Vice President for Academic Affairs. Dr. Huschle currently serves as Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs at Northland Community and Technical College, where he has also served as Provost, Campus Dean, Dean of Academic Affairs, and Chair of the Liberal Arts and Business Division. He earned his B.A. in English and Philosophy from the University of Minnesota, Morris, and his M.A. and Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Dr. Huschle will officially begin his duties at Mayville State on August 2, 2022.  Read more here.

The Community College of Philadelphia has announced the appointment of Dr. Alycia Marshall as Vice President for Academic and Student Success. Dr. Marshall previously served as the Associate Vice President for Learning and Academic Affairs at Anne Arundel Community College (AACC) among other roles during her 22-year tenure at the college.

The University of Nebraska at Kearney has announced the appointment of Dr. Kristen Majocha as Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs beginning July 1, 2022. Dr. Majocha currently serves as Dean of Education and Liberal Arts and the Dean of Social Sciences and Human Services at California University of Pennsylvania.  Previously, she served as the Assistant to the Vice President of Academic Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh, Johnstown, as well as the Director of International Program Support and Services in Student Affairs. She is the current editor of the Iowa Journal of Communication. Dr. Majocha earned a Ph.D. in rhetoric and a Master’s in communication from Duquesne University and a Bachelor of Arts in communication from Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania.  She is a veteran of the US Navy.  Read more here.

Pratt Institute has announced the appointment of Dr. Donna Heiland as their new provost, effective April 18, 2022. Dr. Heiland has been serving as interim provost and prior to that post, served as Pratt’s vice provost for academic affairs. Dr. Heiland has served on the Board of the Strategic National Arts Alumni Project (SNAAP), as vice president of the Teagle Foundation and as director of fellowship programs at the American Council of Learned Societies. She was for many years a tenured faculty member at Vassar College. Dr. Heiland received her Ph.D. in English from Yale University.  Read more here.

University of South Carolina has appointed Dr. Donna K. Arnett as its new Executive VPAA and Provost. Dr. Arnett currently serves as the University of Kentucky’s Dean of the College of Public Health. She will begin her new position at USC on Aug. 1, 2022. Prior to joining Kentucky, Arnett was associate dean and chair of the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Alabama, Birmingham, and is a past president of the American Heart Association. Dr. Arnett earned a nursing degree from University of South Florida, a master’s in epidemiology and biostatistics from South Florida, and a doctorate in epidemiology from University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.  Read more here.