Brehm delays provost search

IU-Bloomington Chancellor Sharon Brehm said she underestimated faculty concerns when she initially announced her proposal to change the current position of Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculties to Provost and Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs earlier this year.\nNow others say she's fixed the situation.\nBrehm announced Monday that she will delay the search for a campus provost in order to "slow the process down and provide more opportunity for discussion with all parties."\nBrehm admits the proposal has been "controversial." The change would alter the responsibilities of the vice chancellors on the Bloomington campus by creating a new administrative position. This suspension of the search will now give the board of trustees more time to review the proposal.\n"In order to do this, I will cancel the current search," Brehm said in a statement.\nBrehm said two circumstances led her to believe this decision was necessary. First, she credits raised concerns among faculty about the proposal, but said IU President Myles Brand's decision to leave for the NCAA significantly contributed to her decision to delay the current search.\n"I think I underestimated the concerns out there, and after President Brand's decision, the anxiety level just naturally increased," Brehm said. \nShe also said those factors made her realize that there wasn't a sufficient amount of support for the project.\nCurrent Dean of Faculties and Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs Moya Andrews will be appointed Interim Provost and Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs as of July 1, 2003. A national search for the provost will begin in fall 2003, and the new provost is expected to be appointed July 1, 2004, according to a release.\nBloomington Faculty Council President Bob Eno said Andrews will retire following the announcement of the permanent provost.\nBrehm said newly named interim President Gerald Bepko will consult with Brehm on the new provost position and they will talk about the roles of the chancellor.\nBrehm discussed the situation extensively with Brand before she decided to announce the delay.\n"This is part of a normal search process, they have to get the job description right," Brand said. "I think its an appropriate decision." \nBrand said he approves of the creation of the provost position but stressed the importance of academics in the upcoming search.\n"I think the chancellor's office needs a full-time academic person," Brand said. "Moya Andrews has done a magnificent job and is doing a magnificent job."\nEno is pleased with Brehm's decision to delay the search.\n"What she did today was remarkably responsive to faculty concerns," he said.\nCampus editor Emily Hendricks contributed to this report.