Virginia Tech announces search committee for vice provost for faculty affairs

Virginia Tech has formed a search committee to oversee a national search for the next vice provost for faculty affairs.

The vice provost’s responsibilities include the recruitment, advancement, and retention of Virginia Tech’s diverse and talented faculty workforce, including tenured and nontenured position types from a broad range of academic areas. The position also supports the university’s leadership to advance academic initiatives and often represents the executive vice president and provost on selected commissions, committees and task forces.

The new vice provost for faculty affairs will replace Jack Finney who announced his retirement in April after a distinguished 34-year career at Virginia Tech.

Vice Provost for Undergraduate Academic Affairs Rachel Holloway will chair the search committee and guide the application/nomination, candidate review and interview, campus engagement, and finalist selection processes. Search committee members are as follows:

• Laura Belmonte, dean, College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences.
• Ellington Graves, assistant provost, Inclusion and Diversity.
• Ching-Hsun Huang, department head, Sustainable Biomaterials.
• Kay Hunnings, associate dean for administration/work-life liaison.
• Brian Kleiner, Ralph H. Bogle Professor and director, Myers-Lawson School of Construction.
• Hud McClanahan, associate university legal counsel.
• David Musick, senior dean for Faculty Affairs, Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine.
• Kelly Oaks, associate vice president, Equity and Accessibility.
• Ginny Pannabecker, director, Research Collaboration and Engagement, University Libraries.
• Maddy Schreiber, professor and associate department head/work-life liaison.
• Tamarah Smith, business operations specialist, Summer and Winter Sessions.
• Ken Smith, chief operations officer, Innovation Campus.
• Keith Thompson, associate dean for Academic Affairs, College of Engineering.
• Lisa Wilkes, vice president for Strategic Initiatives and Special Assistant to the President.
• Robert Weiss, professor, Geosciences; incoming president of Faculty Senate.

The search committee will be supported by a staff that includes Leah Taylor, director of Human Resources for the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost; Jeff Cumberland, talent acquisition manager; Whitney Abraham, recruiter; Sara Leftwich, manager of Dual Career Programs and Special Projects; and Leslie Sullivan, coordinator for faculty affairs.

The position description, application/nomination process, and search updates will be posted on the senior searches page of the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost website.