Thursday, April 24, 2008
By Harold Gwin
The university president said the man filling the post now is the best person for the job.
YOUNGSTOWN — None of the three finalists for provost and vice president for academic affairs at Youngstown State University got offered the job.
All three — Dr. Linda Rae Markert from the State University of New York at Oswego, Dr. Santos Hernandez from the University of Texas at Arlington and Dr. Gerard Voland from Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne — picked from a list of 39 qualified candidates, made visits to the YSU campus this month, meeting with administrators, faculty, staff and students.
All three were described as “extremely qualified candidates” by Dr. Joseph Edwards, dean of YSU’s College of Fine and Performing Arts and chairman of the provost search committee.
However, Dr. David C. Sweet, YSU president, said in a memo sent to the campus community that he decided not to offer the position to any of the three. “While each of the finalists was an acceptable candidate for the position, none exceeded the capabilities of Dr. Ikram Khawaja,” Sweet said, referring to the retired YSU faculty member who has been serving as interim provost and vice president for academic affairs since August.
There are no plans to launch a new provost search anytime soon. Khawaja has agreed to stay on in his interim position for an additional two academic years, Sweet said.
The president said he conferred with the search committee, the board of trustees and others before making his decision to ask Khawaja to remain.
There are major issues that YSU is facing — including the state Strategic Plan for Higher Education as proposed by Ohio’s chancellor of higher education, the development of a community college in the Mahoning Valley and full implementation of YSU’s own strategic plan — that Khawaja is familiar with and has been working on, Sweet said.
“I believe it is in the best interest of the university and the academic division that Dr. Khawaja continues in his role as interim provost,” Sweet said.
Khawaja, a retired YSU professor, chair and college dean, accepted the interim post in August after the July death of Dr. Robert K. Herbert, who drowned in July while vacationing in Costa Rica.
Khawaja joined the YSU faculty in 1968, served 17 years as chairman of the Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, director of faculty relations from 1997 to 2000 and interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences in 2001-02 before retiring in December 2002.
He came back as interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences again from July 2005 to July 2007.
gwin@vindy.com