CCU provost candidates visit Coastal campus for interviews
The finalists selected from a national search are: Bill Berry, Ph.D., provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Butler University, Indianapolis, Ind.; Linda Rae Markert, Ph.D., dean of the School of Education at State University of New York (SUNY) at Oswego; and Robert Sheehan, Ph.D., interim provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, University of Toledo.
The provost is administratively responsible for planning, organizing, budgeting, coordinating, directing and evaluating the instructional, research and public service activities of the university. All four of the academic colleges report to the provost.
Bill Berry has been provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Butler University, a private university, since 2001. He was previously provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and, before that, vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty at the University of Central Arkansas. He earned a Ph.D. in history from Princeton University and a bachelor's degree from the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville.
Linda Rae Markert has been in higher education for more than 29 years, including a position as dean of the school of education at SUNY since 1997. Prior to that, she was chair and professor of SUNY's Department of Technology and a professor in the technology division of San Jose State University. She earned a doctorate in education from the University of the Pacific in Stockton, Calif., a master's degree in science from Illinois State University and a bachelor's degree from State University of New York at Oswego.
Robert Sheehan has been interim provost, senior vice provost for academic affairs and vice provost for strategic planning and student assessment at the University of Toledo. He served on the Ohio Board of Regents from 1998 to 2002, most recently as associate vice chancellor for performance reporting and analysis. During four years at Cleveland State University, he served as interim associate provost for strategic planning and assessment and director of institutional research. He earned a Ph.D. in education from Georgia State University and a bachelor's degree in early childhood education in psychology from the University of Massachusetts.