Provost launches advisory committee; first meeting convenes today

Goal: To tap voices from across campus in mission for driving Purdue’s academic success 

The Provost Advisory Committee will meet for the first time today (Nov. 7) with the strategic goal of ensuring additional voices from every college join in the regular conversation for moving Purdue University’s academic enterprise forward. 

Led by Patrick Wolfe, Purdue provost and executive vice president for academic affairs and diversity, the advisory committee — composed of members representing all 12 Purdue colleges — will meet monthly.

“These Provost Advisory Committee meetings are designed to engage the collective strengths and diversity of voices across our campus for guiding our conversations, strategies and decisions — all with the goal to drive this consequential university to even greater heights of scholarship, success and excellence,” Wolfe said.

Joining Provost Wolfe as members of his advisory committee will be:

• Jeff Volenec, professor and interim head of the Department of Agronomy
• Lin Nan, the Brock Family Chair Professor, senior associate dean and head of the Department of Management
• Eckhard Groll, the William E. and Florence E. Perry Head of Mechanical Engineering, and Reilly Professor of Mechanical Engineering
• Preeti Sivasankar, professor and head of the Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences; assistant vice president for strategic health research, Office of Research; and adjunct faculty, IU School of Medicine-West Lafayette
• Linda Renzulli, professor and head of the Department of Sociology
• Patti Darbishire, associate dean for academic affairs and clinical professor of pharmacy practice
• Ken Burbank, professor and head of the School of Engineering Technology
• Irena Swanson, professor and head of the Department of Mathematics
• Catharine Scott-Moncrieff, professor and head of the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences
• Wayne Wright, associate dean for research, graduate programs and faculty development for the College of Education; professor and the Barbara I. Cook Chair of Literacy and Language in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction
• Natasha Duncan, associate dean for academic and international affairs, and clinical associate professor for the John Martinson Honors College
• Nicole Kong, associate dean for research and professor in geographic information systems in Libraries and School of Information Studies

Sunil Prabhakar, vice provost for faculty affairs, and John Gipson, chief of staff for the provost, will be a part of the advisory committee meetings. Depending on agenda topics, vice provosts and university leaders from other campus areas will be invited to contribute to the monthly sessions, Wolfe said.

Jon Harbor
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Harbor named senior advisor to the provost

In connection with the establishment of the Provost Advisory Committee, Wolfe announced that Purdue Global Provost Jon Harbor will return to the West Lafayette campus in a part-time role as senior advisor to the provost, effective January 2024.

Harbor has served as Purdue Global’s provost since August 2020 and first arrived at Purdue University in 1994. In addition to the part-time role as senior advisor to the Purdue provost, Harbor will spend more time focusing on his scholarly work and research in paleoglaciology.

Carolyn Nordstrom, chief administrative officer, will serve as interim provost for Purdue Global.

“Jon is an effective communicator with varied audiences, an established academic leader, a brilliant scientist and an engaging and delightful teacher,” Provost Wolfe said. “He has championed teaching excellence and the expansion of quality online and in-person education to meet the needs of diverse learners over the course of his academic career. I am excited to welcome him as senior advisor in Purdue University’s Office of the Provost.” 

Writer: Phillip Fiorini, pfiorini@purdue.edu, 765-430-6189