Vice Provost for Research and physics professor Martin Wybourne will assume the role of interim provost on July 1, Provost Carol Folt announced Monday in a campus-wide email. Lindsay Whaley, acting associate provost for international affairs and a linguistics and classics professor, will replace Wybourne as interim vice provost. They will assume their positions the same day that Folt becomes interim College president, an appointment that the Board of Trustees announced last month.
Wybourne will co-lead the College's budget process with Chief Financial Officer Steven Kadish and continue his oversight of the College's research infrastructure. Wybourne joined the College faculty in 1997 as a physics professor and later served as associate dean of the faculty for the sciences. He assumed his role in the Provost's Office in 2004.
Wybourne currently chairs the Institute for Information Infrastructure Protection, a group of more than 20 academic, non-profit and governmental institutions that focus on cyber security research and development. He is also co-chair of the Senior Executive Strategic Planning Advisory Committee.
Wybourne received his PhD from the University of Nottingham in England and has completed extensive research on the electrical, thermal and mechanical properties of nano scale systems. He has also served as a visiting professor at the Universite Pierre and Marie Curie and L'Ecole Normale Superieure in Paris.
Gary Wegner, a physics and astronomy professor, said that Wybourne has extensive experience as a faculty member and researcher and that he is a "good choice" for interim provost.
"He's a personable man, and I think he won't have any big difficulties in his new position," Wegner said.
Whaley will collaborate with the Provost's Office's various centers and programs while continuing to oversee the College's international initiatives and relationships, Folt said.
Whaley has been a linguistics and classics professor since 1993. He joined the Provost's Office last year after serving for five years as the inaugural associate dean for international and interdisciplinary programs. He is currently the co-chair of the Global Dartmouth working group in the strategic planning process.
Christiane Donahue, a linguistics professor and the director of the Institute for Writing and Rhetoric, said that Whaley's experience working as the chair of the linguistics department has allowed him to collaborate effectively with faculty. Whaley will work on the strategic planning process spearheaded by Folt, which will be one of his most significant projects, Donahue said.
"Dartmouth is carrying out a strong strategic planning process, and it will be a fascinating challenge to help bring it to fruition," Donahue said in an email to The Dartmouth. "Professor Whaley is already deeply invested in a key part of this work, co-leading the Global Dartmouth working group."
Students and faculty will benefit from his role as interim vice provost, Donahue said.
"Professor Whaley's even-handed approach to every issue, collegiality, deep knowledge of Dartmouth, commitment to student success and international perspective are a great combination for leadership," Donahue said in the email.
Folt emphasized the experience that both Wybourne and Whaley will bring to their new positions and praised their flexibility in changing roles.
"[Wybourne and Whaley's] deep expertise and understanding of the connections across campus is critical during this time," Folt said in her email. "They are proven leaders who will ensure continuity in the Provost's Office, help maintain the vitality of our academic enterprise and advance momentum around Dartmouth's strategic priorities."
Folt declined to comment beyond her campus-wide email, and Wybourne and Whaley did not respond to requests for comments by press time.
