CIC Provosts

Kim A. Wilcox became Michigan State University’s Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs in August 2005. He received his bachelor’s degree in audiology and speech sciences from Michigan State University (1976) and his master’s and doctorate from Purdue University (1978 and 1980), both in speech and hearing science.

He came to MSU from the University of Kansas, where he served as Dean of the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences and a vice provost for general education coordination from 2002 to 2005. Prior to his MSU appointments, he served for three years as President and CEO of the Kansas Board of Regents. He spent one year as Interim Director of Academic Affairs for the Board of Regents before being appointed President and CEO.

Dr. Wilcox began his career on the faculty at the University of Missouri. He then spent 14 years on the faculty of the University of Kansas, including 10 as the chair of the department of speech-language-hearing. In addition to previous service as special counsel to the chancellor at the University of Kansas, Wilcox is a past University of Kansas Vice Chancellor Fellow and a fellow of the American Council on Education. In 1991 he initiated the Native American training program in speech-language pathology in collaboration with Haskell Indian Nations University. He has published extensively in the area of developmental speech acoustics, is the recipient of several teaching awards, and has directed teaching, research, and service projects funded by the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Education.

Thomas Rosenbaum became Provost of the University of Chicago in January 2007. He received his bachelor’s degree in physics with honors from Harvard University. He then attended Princeton University, where he earned an M.A. and a Ph.D. in physics.

Dr. Rosenbaum is the John T. Wilson Distinguished Service Professor in Physics at the University. He conducted research at Bell Laboratories and at IBM Watson Research Center before he joined the Chicago faculty in 1983. He directed the University’s Materials Research Laboratory from 1991 to 1994, the University’s James Franck Institute from 1995 to 2001, and served as Vice President of Research for Argonne National Laboratory from 2002 to 2006.

As provost, Dr. Rosenbaum is responsible for academic appointments, programs and budgetary priorities at the University, which has a faculty of 2,160 faculty members and a student enrollment of 12,500.

Dr. Rosenbaum’s honors include an Alfred Sloan Research Fellowship, a Presidential Young Investigator Award and the William McMillan Award for Outstanding Contributions to Condensed Matter Physics. He is an elected fellow and Centennial Lecturer of the American Physical Society and an elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Richard Wheeler is currently the Interim Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Provost at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and was named to the CIC’s Members’ (Provosts’) Committee in January 2010.  He received a B.A. from Cornell College in Iowa, an M.A. from the State University of New York at Buffalo, and a Ph.D. in English from the State University in Buffalo in 1970.

Dr. Wheeler began his career at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in the Department of English in 1969.  Since that time he has been a faculty member in the department, served as Head of the Department of English from 1987 to 1997, and from 1999-2000, served as Acting Head of the Department of Anthropology. He was appointed as the first Dean of the Graduate College from 2000-2008.

He has published research on the works of Shakespeare, Elizabethan drama, literary theory and modern British literature.  He has been chair of the executive committee of the Midwest Association of Graduate Schools, chair of the CIC graduate deans’ group and chair of the Board of Directors of the Council of Graduate Schools. He has also served on several national panels on graduate education, including the National Research Council’s Committee on an Assessment of Research-Doctorate Programs, the Government Relations Task Force, and Graduate Education 2010.  

In January 2012, Lauren Robel began serving as Interim Provost and Executive Vice President of Indiana University -- Bloomington. She is a graduate of Auburn University and Indiana University Maurer School of Law.

Lauren Robel has been Dean of the Indiana University School of Law since 2003. Prior to her appointment as dean, she served as Acting and Associate Dean from 1991-2002. She also served as Assistant, Associate and Full Professor of Law at the Indiana University Law School from 1985-2002. Prior to those appointments, she was Law Clerk for the Honorable Jesse Eschbach and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit from 1983-85.

Robel has also been a visiting faculty member at Université Panthéon-Assas (Paris II), where she published a book, Les États des Noirs: Fédéralisme et question raciale aux États-unis, (Presses Universitaires de France, 2000), with Professor Elisabeth Zoller.

Lauren Robel's research focuses on the federal courts. Her articles have appeared in numerous leading law journals. She is a frequent speaker on topics ranging from procedural reform to sovereign immunity and co-author of Federal Courts: Cases and Materials on Judicial Federalism and the Lawyering Process (LEXISNEXIS 2005), a casebook on federal jurisdiction written with Arthur Hellman.

She is currently President of the American Association of Law Schools, where she has served as a member of its Executive Committee since 2006. She is also a member of the Rules Advisory Committee for the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.

P. Barry Butler was appointed Executive Vice President and Provost at the University of Iowa in May 2011. He earned his bachelors and masters degrees in aeronautical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

He received his doctorate in mechanical engineering in 1984, also from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Dr. Butler joined the University of Iowa faculty in 1984. Prior to his interim Provost appointment, Dr. Butler was Dean of the College of Engineering, where he holds the rank of full professor in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering. He was named full professor in 1995 and the college’s Associate Dean of Academic Programs two years later. He was named interim Dean of the college in 1999, and Dean in 2000.

His service activities at the University of Iowa include serving two terms on the Presidential Scholarship Program Committee (1986-89 and 1996-98); Faculty Senate (1995-98); Faculty Council (1996-98); Provost’s Ad Hoc Committee on Special Compensation (2005); and co-chair of the Green Power Task Force (2007). He was faculty advisor to the UI Student Chapter of the Society of Automotive Engineers from 1985-90 and to the campus chapter of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers from 1988-90.

Butler is also active in a number of aerospace-related instructional and research activities at the University of Iowa, where he also serves as campus coordinator of the Iowa Space Grant Consortium, an organization with 20 years of continuous support from NASA. He currently serves on the boards of several state and national technology-based organizations committed to economic growth and advancing science, technology, engineering and math education, including the American Wind Energy Association Board of Directors and co-chair of that association’s research committee. He also serves as Iowa Governor Terry E. Branstad’s delegate to the Aerospace States Association.

Philip J. Hanlon became Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs at the University of Michigan in July 2010.  A graduate of Dartmouth College, Dr. Hanlon received his Ph.D. at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).

A University of Michigan faculty member since 1986, Dr. Hanlon has held administrative leadership positions for the past decade, serving as Associate Dean for Planning and Finance in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts from 2001-2004 and as Vice-Provost for Academic and Budgetary Affairs from 2004-June 2010. In these positions, Dr. Hanlon has worked to develop and support academic programs, implement long-term cost savings, and increase transparency in the budgetary process. As Vice Provost he led campus-wide initiatives on interdisciplinary learning and teaching and established new policies and processes that are leading to more effective use of the University of Michigan’s space and facilities.

As a mathematician, Dr. Hanlon focuses on probability and combinatorics with applications to bioinformatics and theoretical computer science. He is an expert on topics such as computational genetics, cryptology, and card shuffling. He also founded the Michigan Math and Science Scholars program, a summer program for high school students who have a strong interest in these fields.

He has received numerous awards for his mathematical research, including a Sloan Fellowship, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and a Presidential Young Investigator Award. The University of Michigan has recognized his commitment to teaching with an Excellence in Education Award, an Arthur F. Thurnau Professorship and a Donald J. Lewis Professorship.

Karen Hanson became Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost at the University of Minnesota in February 2012. She received her B.A. degree in philosophy and mathematics from the University of Minnesota in 1970 and Ph.D. and A.M. degrees in philosophy from Harvard in 1980.

Dr. Hanson came to the University of Minnesota from Indiana University where she served as Provost and Executive Vice President since August 2007. Dr. Hanson was on the staff of Indiana University-Bloomington from 1976 to 2007, serving the Philosophy Department from 1976 to 2001 in the capacity of Lecturer, Assistant, Associate and Full Professor. She was also department chair from 1997 to 2002 and has been a Rudy Professor since 2001. In 2002, she was named Dean of the Hutton Honors College. She also was an adjunct professor of gender studies, American studies and comparative literature.

Dr. Hanson's principal research interests are in philosophy of mind, philosophy of language, ethics, aesthetics and American philosophy. She has published many articles and essays in these areas and is the author of The Self Imagined: Philosophical Reflections on the Social Character of Psyche (Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1986) and a co-editor of Romantic Revolutions: Criticism and Theory (Indiana University Press, 1990).

She has served on the Executive Committee of the Central Division of the American Philosophical Association, as chair of the Board of Officers of the APA, and APA delegate to the American Council of Learned Societies. She also has been an associate editor of Journal of Social Philosophy, a member of the editorial board of American Philosophical Quarterly and a trustee for the American Society for Aesthetics. Her current editorial board memberships include Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews and Cognitio. She is an officer of the board of the John Dewey Foundation and a member of both the advisory and the editorial boards of the Peirce Edition Project.

Ellen Weissinger became Senior Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln in February 2011. A Nebraska native, Weissinger earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1980. She received her Master of Arts degree from the University of Iowa in 1982 and a doctorate from the University of Maryland in 1985.

Dr. Weissinger previously served as the Dean of Graduate Studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She is a tenured full professor of educational psychology with expertise in quantitative research methodology. She taught at the University of Iowa for one year before joining the University of Nebraska – Lincoln faculty in 1986. She was promoted to associate professor in 1992 and full professor in 1999.

Weissinger's academic interest is the interdisciplinary area of leisure studies. She published over 40 research articles with a special focus on intrinsic motivation and boredom. She also specialized in psychometric work and has published three measurement instruments. From 1996-2001 she served as editor of the Journal of Leisure Research. At UNL, she taught research methods courses in the College of Education and Human Sciences, including foundations of educational research, survey methods, experimental methods, and evaluation theory.

She has been the principle investigator or co-principle investigator for U.S. Department of Education and National Science Foundation grants. She is the Director of the Great Plains National Security Education Consortium. She also sits on the advisory board of the National Graduate and Professional Student Association and on the Council of Graduate Schools Research Task Force. Dr. Weissinger previously served as associate dean of Teachers College at University of Nebraska-Lincoln and associate director of the Buros Institute for Mental Measurement.

Daniel I. Linzer became Provost of Northwestern University in September 2007. Prior to coming to Northwestern, Linzer received his bachelor of science degree in molecular biophysics and biochemistry from Yale University in 1976 and a Ph.D. in biochemical sciences from Princeton University in 1980. He completed a National Institutes of Health postdoctoral fellowship at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Linzer joined Northwestern in 1984 as an assistant professor, and is now a professor of biochemistry, molecular biology and cell biology. He has conducted pioneering research on the molecular basis of hormone action. Following four years as Associate Dean, Linzer was appointed Dean of Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences in 2002.

Among the many awards he has received are the Searle Scholars Award, the American Cancer Society Faculty Research Award, and the Northwestern Alumni Association Excellence in Teaching Award.

Joseph A. Alutto became Executive Vice President and Provost of The Ohio State University in July 2007. He received his bachelor's degree in business administration from Manhattan College, a master's degree in industrial relations from the University of Illinois, and a Ph.D. in organizational behavior from Cornell University.

Before joining Ohio State, Dr. Alutto was the Clarence S. Marsh Professor of Management at the State University of New York at Buffalo. He also served as Dean of the SUNY-Buffalo School of Management from 1976 to 1990. Dr. Alutto was appointed Dean of the Max M. Fisher College of Business at The Ohio State University in 1991, holding the John W. Berry Sr. Chair in Business. He is a professor of management and human resources. Dr. Alutto also served as Executive Dean for the Professional Colleges, where he coordinated the activities of the Colleges of Education and Human Ecology, Engineering, Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Law and Social Work.

Dr. Alutto is a leading authority on managerial behavior, having published on research methods in organizations and more than 65 articles in academic journals. His research expertise also includes joint ventures, corporate and individual performance, management education and Sino-U.S. economic activity. He has lectured widely in Asia on management issues, and in 1984 pioneered the first Sino-U.S. jointly funded MBA program offered in the People's Republic of China. He is a member of the Academy of Management, American Psychological Association, Labor and Employment Relations Association and American Association for the Advancement of Science. He served as President of the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business—the International Association for Management Education from October 1996 - June 1998.

Robert N. Pangborn was named Penn State University’s Interim Executive Vice President and Provost in December 2011. Dr. Pangborn is also the Vice President and Dean for Undergraduate Education. He holds dual bachelor's degrees from Rutgers University in civil engineering with an emphasis in business, as well as master's and doctoral degrees in mechanics and materials science.

Dr. Pangborn has taught and conducted research at Penn State University since 1979 in the Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics in the areas of engineering mechanics and structures, failure analysis and engineering materials. He has served as the University’s Vice President and Dean for Undergraduate Education since January 2006. He also oversees the University's enrollment management across Penn State's 20 baccalaureate degree-granting campuses. Prior to that role, he was an associate dean in engineering for more than 10 years.

He has been recognized by the Penn State Engineering Society for both outstanding advising and outstanding teaching. On the University-level, he has won the Provost’s Award for Collaborative Instruction and Curricular Innovation and the McKay Donkin Award for service to the faculty.

Timothy D. Sands became Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost of Purdue University on April 1, 2010.  He earned a bachelor's degree with highest honors in engineering physics and a master's degree and doctorate in materials science from the University of California, Berkeley.

As executive vice president and provost, Dr. Sands will be responsible for all of Purdue’s colleges and schools, the regional campuses and related academic activities in coordination with the Office of the President. The provost also oversees libraries, cultural centers, and enrollment management including admissions, registrar and financial aid and various student success programs in addition to the appointment and retention of faculty and academic staff.

Dr. Sands joined the Purdue faculty in 2002 as the Basil S. Turner Professor of Engineering in the schools of materials engineering and electrical and computer engineering.  From 1993-2002, Sands was a professor of materials science and engineering at the University of California-Berkeley and before that, he performed research and directed research groups at Bellcore, a New Jersey-based research company now known as Telcordia.

Sands has published more than 200 papers and has been granted 15 patents in electronic and optoelectronic materials and devices.  His present research efforts are directed toward the development of novel nanocomposite materials for environmentally friendly and cost-effective solid-state lighting, direct conversion of heat to electrical power and thermoelectric refrigeration. He is a fellow of IEEE and the Materials Research Society.

Paul M. DeLuca, Jr. was named the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs in July 2009.  He earned his bachelor's degree in physics and mathematics at Le Moyne College in Syracuse, New York and was awarded his Ph.D. in nuclear physics from the University of Notre Dame.

DeLuca has a long and distinguished tenure at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is an internationally recognized expert in high-energy particle radiation effects on humans, and also holds a faculty appointment in engineering physics.  He served as vice chair/chair of the Department of Medical Physics from and helped lead its growth from a small group of faculty into one of the medical school's largest basic-science departments. In 1999, he was named associate dean at the school; the title of vice dean was added in 2001.

DeLuca's scientific research has focused primarily on the various applications of physics to the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. As vice dean of the School of Medicine and Public Health, he played a key role in developing the physical and intellectual infrastructure for the health-sciences campus. He was integral to the creation of the Wisconsin Institutes for Medical Research (WIMR).  The first WIMR tower, largely devoted to cancer research, opened in the fall of 2008; two additional towers are planned.  Widely published, DeLuca has served on many key campus committees engaged in academic and facilities planning. He chaired the HealthStar Oversight Committee from 1996-98 and currently serves as the director of the WIMR.

As the chief academic officer, the provost is responsible for helping articulate and implements the institution's long-term goals in research and education through close collaboration with the chancellor and the deans of the University of Wisconsin-Madison's 13 schools and colleges. The provost's office is also responsible for faculty and staff programs, diversity initiatives and enrollment management.