Marquette University’s newest provost, Debbie Tahmassebi, is diving headfirst into her new job.
After serving in the role for less than a month, Tahmassebi has already engaged in several notable university activities, including attending the Big East Research Symposium in New York City.
The provost attends every University Academic Senate meeting, and Tahmassebi made her first appearance March 23.
“If you see me across campus, please say hi,” she said during her senate remarks. “I do look forward to learning more about Marquette and all the wonderful things that are going on here.”
Tahmassebi came to Marquette from Westminster University, a private institution in Salt Lake City, Utah, where she served as provost since 2019. Before her career in educational leadership, she was a chemistry professor for nearly 16 years at the University of San Diego.
She said the transition from teaching and research to leadership was gradual. Tahmassebi took on service jobs leading various university-wide initiatives, in addition to her work as a professor, discovering a passion for helping her university grow.
“When you’re a faculty member, you have a service component to your job,” she said. “I was just drawn to things that I thought were going to be beneficial for the entire university.”
Now, when she is not attending events, Tahmassebi has spent most of her time at Marquette exploring campus and getting to know the campus community. She plans to build trust with the community by talking with people and engaging with campus stakeholders.
As head of academic affairs, the provost oversees an array of senior university leaders. This includes Marquette’s 10 academic deans, along with officials in research, enrollment and student affairs. Tahmassebi said her current focus is not necessarily action, but rather familiarizing herself with the topics and issues most relevant to Marquette.
“There is a pretty large portfolio with a lot of people to understand and know,” she said. “Right now, the work is not ‘Let me give you an answer,’ but rather ‘Let me learn more and let me take some time to be thoughtful about this.’”
Tahmassebi declined to indicate any specific projects that she plans to lead in her new role, saying she has not been at Marquette long enough to have a clear idea.
When asked about the college restructuring initiative spearheaded by former Acting Provost Sarah Feldner, Tahmassebi said conversations are ongoing and task forces are convening to discuss the previously proposed measures that relate to research, pre-med advising and financial reporting.
Tahmassebi will also be in charge of leading other projects related to the 2031 Securing our Future initiative.
“I would expect to have that information in a few months, but that work is all getting started,” she said.
Tahmassebi said her primary goal is to always be thoughtful about how her actions and decisions as provost affect the campus community, something she said aligns with Marquette’s Jesuit values.
“I’m more focused on what it is that you’re going to do, and what value are you bringing back into your community,” she said.
This story was updated with new information.
This story was written by Sahil Gupta. He can be reached at [email protected].
