Two external candidates for provost and executive vice president for academic affairs visited campus last week, and a third internal candidate will go through the process this week.
Dr. Carlo Montemagno, dean of the College of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Cincinnati, and Dr. Janine Janosky, vice president at Austen BioInnovation Institute in Akron, were interviewed and held open forums discussing the approaches they would take to leading academic operations on UT’s Main Campus.
Dr. Scott Scarborough, senior vice president and executive director of UT Medical Center, will participate in a forum open to all internal and external constituents Tuesday, July 24, at 2 p.m. in Student Union Room 3018.
Montemagno, who has been with the University of Cincinnati since 2006 when he joined the faculty as a professor of bioengineering, talked about his successes improving the quality of students in his college and building connections with the community.
“As a University, we need reassess the value of our university with regards to our community and make sure we understand that the university is a strategic community partner,” he said. “One of the reasons why I’m here is the leadership that you currently have. It is in line with my vision and beliefs.”
Janosky, who has served as the vice president of Austen BioInnovation Institute since 2010, used the open forum to also talk about her experiences building community around the University of Pittsburgh during her tenure there and efforts to ensure a successful and diverse student and faculty at various organizations.
“With the more mature I become in my life in academia, I see the benefits more and more of having a porous campus,” she said. “It is taking the campus and viewing it as a partner in the community and taking into account the region, the state and beyond.”
Janosky has held several research director positions and was a member of the family medicine and clinical epidemiology faculty at the University of Pittsburgh. In addition, she previously was vice provost for research at Central Michigan University, where she also was a professor of mathematics.
Montemagno, in addition to his role with the University of Cincinnati, has been a member of the faculty at the University of California at Los Angeles and Cornell University, and held posts with Argonne National Laboratory, the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Navy.
Both candidates answered questions from the UT community about their views on shared governance, approaches to student enrollment and retention, and how they would increase global experiences for students.
Montemagno and Janosky also said during their open forums that they were both first-generation college students who valued the role higher education has in offering opportunities to students.
Scarborough, who is the third candidate for the provost position, has been with UT since 2007 when he accepted the position of senior vice president for finance and administration. He joined UT from DePaul University and prior to that, he worked for the University of Texas System for 10 years.
The person selected as UT’s next provost and executive vice president for academic affairs will succeed Dr. William McMillen, who is retiring after 30 years with UT and the former Medical College of Ohio/Medical University of Ohio.
Feedback about the candidates for provost can be sent to Joel Epstein, executive search consultant with Waverly Partners LLC at jepstein@waverly-partners.com; Susan Palmer, UT trustee and chair of the Provost Advisory Search Committee at spalmer@toledomuseum.org; and UT President Lloyd Jacobs at Lloyd.Jacobs@utoledo.edu.
