Augustana College is nearing the final stages of its search for a new provost. During the search, the college had a selection committee composed of faculty, staff, board members and a student representative. 

One member of this committee and one of its three founding members is Faculty Council Chair Dr. Amanda Wilmsmeyer. In forming the committee, she spoke with President Talentino and Dr. Mariano Magalhães.

“The three of us sat down together and talked through what the best committee composition would be, making sure to get the right voices and a diverse group on the committee,” Wilmsmeyer said.

Augustana College’s current provost, Dr. Wendy Hilton-Morrow, is stepping down from her position while maintaining a faculty role in the communications department. The committee is tasked with choosing a new provost who will act as vice president of academic affairs, guide changes to curricula, faculty and staff and assist in the formation of new academic programs.

During this meeting, 14 committee members were chosen, including the group’s student representative, senior Moreen Akomea-Ampeh. This diverse group of Augustana community members began deliberations in December with a pool of nearly 65 applicants. Over the next two months, 13 of those applicants would receive initial interviews, with seven semi-final interviews taking place in early February. 

Another committee member, Dr. Ann Perreau, a professor of the communication sciences and disorders, explained that the candidates are excited about the opportunity to lead at Augustana. 

“Out of those seven, all three that we invited back have enthusiastically accepted, and those will be the candidates to come this next week,” Perreau said.

Rather than simply appearing for more closed meetings, the candidates will participate in public forums open to all Augustana students. The spirit of the selection process, Perreau said, has been an “informed, respectful debate.” Including students as a part of the process, she said, is important to both the candidates and Augustana itself.

“The candidates remarked about having a student member and how impressive that is,” Perreau said. “It shows that we take our students seriously and we care about their perspective because we do.”

The candidates’ appreciation of student representation was shared by Akomea-Ampeh as well.

 “It didn’t matter whether or not I was a student,” Akomea-Ampeh said. “They took everything into consideration. We learned about them, but they also learned about us.”

Although Akomea-Ampeh is a student, her decisions as part of the selection committee have real impacts on Augustana’s leadership.

“She has been an outstanding member of our committee,” Wilmsmeyer said. “She has asked questions of the candidates. She did the same work that we did and reviewed applications.”

“The committee has done a pretty good job doing due diligence to make sure these applicants would be qualified to help lead Augustana,” Wilmsmeyer said. 

In regard to the upcoming forums, she said that the three finalists come from unique backgrounds.

“They are very different. They are humans, and they have strengths and weaknesses and unique personalities,” Wilmsmeyer said. 

As students attend the upcoming forums, they will have the opportunity to interact with these candidates in person. These events will be held at Olin Center from 2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Feb. 21, 22 and 23.