With Neil Weissman, Provost and Dean of Dickinson College, stepping down at the end of the 2022-2023 school year, the search for a new provost that will promote Dickinson’s core values but also tackle some of the college’s complex challenges is nearing a conclusion. 

In the past three weeks, three candidates have been invited to campus for a staff open session and interview. The President’s Office has created a search committee consisting of faculty, staff, and administrators that represent a well-rounded and diverse committee that can effectively represent the needs of all areas of the college.

“It is a process where we want to make sure people [faculty and staff] have access to them,” said John E. Jones III ’77, President of Dickinson College. “I am quite confident we’ll find an excellent candidate,” said Jones. 

But the excellent candidate that President Jones talks about will have to come from outside the college. The college has employed WittKieffer to help with the search, which is an executive search firm. 

When asked about the difficulties in adjusting to a new provost, Kristine Mitchell, Associate Professor of Political Science and chair of the Faculty Personnel Committee, was not concerned. “The important thing is that this person puts in the time and effort to really get to know our community and appreciate the great things that happen here. Change is exciting but it’s also important that any new campus leader values the people and principles that make Dickinson such a special place,” said Mitchell. 

Mark Aldrich, Associate Professor of Spanish, also echoed Mitchell’s optimistic view. “A certain academic culture develops around the person who has been there so long, so I think there will be new challenges for the new provost, and I think faculty will have to adapt and be open to new ways of looking at things because the new provost will have their own ideas too,” said Aldrich. 

With change comes challenges, and the new provost will certainly have some things to tackle right off the bat. This includes the issues of a review of a new faculty salary system and faculty salary equity, both by gender at Dickinson and with respect to salaries at other colleges.

“Many of us—students, faculty, and staff—are feeling stretched pretty thin. And in a period of high inflation, wages and salaries haven’t kept up with rising costs, but there’s no easy way to simply pay more. Along with other campus leaders, the new Provost will need to respond to these challenges,” said Mitchell. 

In terms of what qualities make a good provost, characteristics of empathetic and strategic leaders came to the mind of the professors.

“The provost needs to understand the full dynamic of how the institution functions and the pressure faculty have balancing teaching and scholarship. They need to be someone who really cares about teaching the provost needs to be a really good listener, but also a leader,” said Aldrich. 

“A good Provost has to be both a good collaborator and a leader. There are a lot of people involved in delivering Dickinson’s incredible academic program, and the provost has to understand their needs, support their ideas, and connect them to the resources they need to achieve all the great things we do. But a good provost doesn’t just listen—they also bring their own ideas to the table and get other people excited about new opportunities and ideas,” said Mitchell.

Neil Weissman has been the Provost and Dean of the College since 2002, and joined the college in 1975 as an instructor in history and then rose through the ranks of assistant, associate and full professor. Some of his more notable leadership positions include chair of the Department of History, coordinator of the Russian & Soviet area studies, and director of the Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues.