YSU names new interim provost

The president hopes to have a search committee for a new provost in place by the end of February.
YOUNGSTOWN -- Bege Bowers, assistant provost for academic programs and planning at Youngstown State University, will serve as interim provost until the university finds a replacement for Provost Tony Atwater.
Atwater leaves Feb. 1 to become president of Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
Ron Chordas, assistant provost for academic administration, will become associate provost for academic administration.
"I have the highest confidence that Dr. Bowers and Dr. Chordas will build on the momentum of the academic division," YSU President David C. Sweet said.
"A good team is in place for this transition period."
Sweet said Bowers received broad endorsement from the campus for the interim appointment.
Sweet said he plans to have a search committee and chairperson for a new provost in place by the end of February.
The national search will begin shortly thereafter. Sweet said he is soliciting advice and counsel from campus constituencies about the role and priorities for the new provost.
Biographies
Bowers, an English professor, came to YSU in 1984 and has held various positions since, including acting chair of the English department, assistant to the dean and associate dean in the College of Arts and Sciences, and director of the professional writing and editing program. She became assistant provost in 2002.
She played a major role in the development of the YSU Centennial Strategic Plan and has been a longtime member of the YSU Academic Senate.
Bowers earned a bachelor's degree in English from Vanderbilt University, and master's and doctoral degrees in English from the University of Tennessee.
Chordas came to YSU in 1989 as director of the Center for Human Service Development, and was interim executive director of the Public Service Institute before becoming assistant provost in 2002.
Chordas earned a bachelor's degree in psychology and a master's in counseling from YSU, and a doctorate in education from Kent State University.