Provost Daniel Myers stepped down from his role Oct. 31, effective immediately, according to a university news brief. Marquette University President Michael Lovell appointed Kimo Ah Yun, dean of the College of Communication, as acting provost.
Lovell, the university academic senate and Ah Yun will work to find a permanent replacement for Myers, the news brief said. Lovell said the changes in leadership unfolded the week of Oct. 31.
“The chemistry and alignment of a president and provost are incredibly important for success, especially in a strong provost model of shared governance,” Lovell said in the news brief. “Ultimately, I determined we needed a different combination of skills and perspectives to ensure we fulfill Marquette’s long-term strategic vision of being among the most innovative and accomplished Catholic, Jesuit universities in the world.”
Lovell said it is his role to ensure that his executive leadership team is staffed with the “right people” to take Marquette University in the right direction.
Lovell said the university needs leaders who are collaborative in order to move forward and more specifically advance the strategic plan Beyond Boundaries.
“Now we need leaders who are going to be … welcoming with everyone in the community and have their input and really help us,” Lovell said at the Beyond Boundaries event in the Alumni Memorial Union Friday. “Again, we want this to be a real strong community. We want everyone’s input to be heard in how we move things forward.”
“As a strong Marquette supporter, I look forward to serving the university during the transition period between Dan Myers leaving the role and a permanent Provost being named,” Ah Yun wrote in an email to College of Communication faculty Oct. 31.
Myers was the second faculty member from the office of the president to resign within a week. Marquette University executive vice president of operations Dave Lawlor resigned from his position Oct. 25to join Gen 3 Capital, a Chicago-based private investment firm. Lovell then appointed Joel Pogodzinski as senior vice president and chief operating officer. Pogodzinski previously served as the chief financial officer of the university.
Ah Yun said he does not plan to take on new initiatives. Rather, he will continue to support existing initiatives.
Ah Yun said the university has yet to decide who the interim or acting dean of the College of Communication will be during his absence from the college. Ah Yun met with Lovell Tuesday about selecting an acting dean, and said it is his intention to have the matter resolved by the end of this week.
“In the short term, I’m going to move over to the provost’s office … and then I’ll have a conversation with Mike about when is the best timeline,” Ah Yun said.
Joyce Wolburg, associate dean of the College of Communication, said she was blindsided by the change, as she had no prior knowledge of the situation and believes the staffing change was a recent development.
Wolburg said the faculty and staff of the College of Communication need to accept there is a potential Ah Yun could be named the permanent provost.
A permanent replacement for Myers has not been decided upon. The search could take months, or even over a year.
University spokesperson Chris Jenkins said in an email Oct. 31 that the university does not have anything to add at this time.
Tara Schumal contributed to this report.
This story was updated Oct. 31 at 9:15 p.m. and Nov. 6 at 8:53 p.m. This story is developing.
