UCF closes in on new provost

The search committee in charge of finding a new provost has narrowed the potential candidates down to four individuals.

"The committee hopes to have a recommendation to the president in early May," said Grant Heston, the assistant vice president of UCF News & Information.

Terry Hickey, the current provost, is set to retire June 30. He was hired in 2003.
The search committee has narrowed down the field from 93 applicants to the final four, with backgrounds ranging from holding the position of provost at other universities to former deans and professors.

There will be a series of open meetings — available for students to participate — held for all four of the finalists.

All of the open meetings will take place at 3:15 p.m. in the Teaching Academy Room 117.
During Thursday's Student Government Association Senate meeting, SGA President Brian Peterson said all students who are available to go to the meetings should do just that.
The position of provost at UCF, much like other academic institutions, is that of chief academic administrator. It is the second-most powerful position at UCF, acting as President John Hitt's second-in-command.

Here is a breakdown of the finalists:

Tony Waldrop
Waldrop is the vice chancellor for research and economic development at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He also held the position of vice chancellor for research at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. His highest academic degree is a Ph.D. in physiology, which he earned in 1981 from UNC. He has taught molecular and integrative physiology.

According to UNC's website, Waldrop has published more than 100 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters.

Waldrop has worked as the interim dean of the graduate school and as a regional dean at the University of Illinois.

"My experiences and personal goals are very consistent with the goals for UCF on the Office of the President website," Waldrop wrote in his official letter to UCF.
Waldrop's open meeting is April 29.

Raymond Alden
Alden is the executive vice president and sitting provost at Northern Illinois University.
In his official letter to UCF, Alden said that although he is not on the active job market, he does have "professional and personal interests" in being nominated for the position.

"I am very impressed with the university's rapid growth and development as well as its great potential for the future," Alden wrote in his letter.

He has received a Ph.D. from the University of Florida in zoology and previously was a tenured professor at Old Dominion University, University of Nevada Las Vegas, and Northern Illinois University, where he taught biology.

When Alden was provost at UNLV, according to his official letter, enrollment for the university increased by almost a third, more than 40 degree programs were added, 28 research and service centers were created and over two dozen buildings were built.
Alden's open meeting is April 26.

Richard DeMillo
DeMillo is a professor of computing and management at Georgia Tech, and previously served as the dean of the College of Computing there. According to DeMillo's official letter, that college saw growth for six consecutive years during his time as dean.

DeMillo worked with Emory University's medical school, helping to create a department in biomedical informatics.

In the private sector, DeMillo worked as the chief technology officer for Hewlett-Packard, and chaired HP's Technology Council.

He also has done international work, teaching electronics and informatics at the University of Padua, located in Italy.

As a writer, DeMillo has authored books on the topic of information security and higher education.

DeMillo's open meeting is Thursday.

James Coleman
Coleman is currently the vice provost of research at fellow Conference USA school Rice University.

"I have demonstrated a very strong ability to facilitate and inspire research growth and excellence in scholarship and creative activities …," Coleman wrote in his letter to UCF.
He also teaches at Rice as a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology.

Coleman previously was the vice chancellor for research as well as a professor of biological sciences at the University of Missouri.

He started his career in academics as a tenured professor at Syracuse University, where he taught biology.

At Syracuse, Coleman was a program officer for ecological and evolutionary physiology at the National Science Foundation.

Coleman received his Ph.D. in forestry and environmental studies from Yale University.
Coleman's open meeting is Monday.