Interim Provost Paula Short, under the instructions of President and Chancellor Renu Khator, announced eight new positions within the division of academic affairs at UH and the UH System.
Although four of the positions will be permanent, half of the appointments are only interim positions. Two of the newly appointed administrators will assume system-wide roles.
The new appointments came after an announcement made by Khator on May 13 that she, along with the provost, will begin to reorganize the division of academic affairs.
“In October, the provost and I engaged the Pappas Consulting Group Inc. to create a functionally aligned organizational structure for the Office of the Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs/Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost,” Khator said in an email announcement.
“Our objective was to be able to optimally support the University of Houston’s Tier One classification and to ensure student success at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.”
After Khator announced the restructuring, Short sent out her own email, proclaiming the resignation of eight administrators.
The new eight positions announced Tuesday do not directly replace the former eight, but assume new responsibilities and titles.
Among the interim appointments are Richard Olenchak as interim associate provost of faculty development and faculty affairs, Teri Elkins Longacre as interim vice provost and dean of undergraduate student success, Dmitri Litvinov as interim vice provost and dean of University of Houston Graduate School, and Jeff Morgan as interim associate provost of education innovation and technology.
Some individuals received permanent appointments, such as Richard D. Phillips as associate vice chancellor for system initiatives, Chris Stanich as associate vice chancellor and associate provost of institutional planning and analysis, Edward Craig Ness as associate provost of finance and administration, and Ramanan Krishnamoorti as chief energy officer.
The administration remains busy as it continues to search to fill more positions.
“In addition to these appointments, we will begin searches to fill the following four positions: associate provost for strategic enrollment planning, vice provost for global strategies and studies, chief health sciences officer and chief arts officer,” Short said in her email to the UH community.
“We will also appoint a university-wide working group to develop a strategic plan for university engagement.”
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