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YSU STEM dean named interim provost, could be permanent
By Denise Dick
YOUNGSTOWN
Martin Abraham, founding dean of Youngstown State University’s College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, has been named interim provost and vice president for academic affairs, and the university is neither conducting a search for a permanent provost nor planning a search.
The appointment must be approved by university trustees who meet Oct. 7.
YSU President Jim Tressel said it’s conceivable that Abraham, who didn’t apply for the provost position, could be named to the post permanently.
“You could say I’m rooting for it to end up that way,” he said.
Abraham said he’s gratified that Tressel has the level of confidence in him to do the job and pleased to be asked, but he’s also a bit nervous about the work that needs to be done.
He pointed to the university’s budget challenges and the goal of attracting more students to YSU.
As part of latest university budget process, each university division was assigned a reduction target to hit to deal with lower revenue. The academic division’s target was the highest.
An interim STEM dean is expected to be appointed soon.
“One of the things I’ve grown to appreciate about Dr. Abraham and his work in STEM is there’s no question that his focus is on excellence,” Tressel said. “You’ve heard me say enough times that excellence can solve a lot of your problems.”
That’s a way to improve both retention and enrollment, the president said.
The provost search first started while Randy Dunn was YSU president. It then was suspended after Dunn resigned and university trustees searched for a new president.
It resumed in June, and the search committee narrowed the first to 11 candidates and then four finalists who visited campus earlier this month.
“They were four excellent candidates,” Tressel said. “The committee brought us good-quality human beings who would do some very good things if indeed we chose them and they chose us to be here. But as I assessed things, I didn’t feel totally tied to go that route. I felt we needed to go with what the institution needed, and we did what we thought was best at the end of the day for the institution.”
He said that although he didn’t go into the search with the idea of picking Abraham, after months of study and observation, he believes he’s the best person for the job at this time.
The costs of the national search weren’t available Wednesday.
Abraham came to YSU in 2007 after 11 years at the University of Toledo, first as a professor of chemical and environmental engineering, then as associate dean of Research and Graduate Studies in the College of Engineering and finally as dean of the College of Graduate Studies.
He is a member of boards of the Youngstown Business Incubator, OH WOW! Roger & Gloria Jones Children’s Center for Science & Technology, VEC Inc., and Fireline, according to the university. He has more than 70 refereed publications and nine books and editorships.
Abraham is a Fellow of the American Chemical Society and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. He was named Business Advocate of the Year in 2012 by the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber.