Recently, Dr. Greg McBrayer, associate professor of political science, was chosen as Ashland University’s interim provost and AU President Jon Peede’s first choice.
“I think Professor McBrayer has shown a great capacity to represent the voices of the faculty while also understanding the institutional leadership and budgetary pressures,” Peede said.
When Peede asked McBrayer to take on the position, he did not immediately say yes, as he enjoys writing and reading and knew the role would cut into that time.
However, McBrayer decided to accept the role for a few reasons.
“I care about this place and a lot of my friends who work here and have devoted their lives to this place. They deserve someone who can try to help put Ashland on a much better footing for the future,” McBrayer said. “And the fact that several of my colleagues, when I told them I’d been asked, thought that it should be me—I took as a sign of confidence.”
McBrayer was announced as the interim provost on March 13 in a press release to AU faculty and staff. He started the position on March 17.
Former AU Provost Dr. Amiel Jarster is serving in an advisory capacity to McBrayer.
Due to AU policy, the university does not disclose personnel decisions.
“We are grateful for the way [Jarster] has served, and he is available to our interim provost in whatever manner he might need for ongoing projects,” Peede said.
Peede made the decision based on the strategic planning process for the university, which is set to take place soon. The strategic planning will assess the direction in which AU is headed.
“As president, I needed to think through the highest level of academic leadership—the provost—and whether we needed any kind of transition or different thinking,” Peede said. “It was important to make that change before the strategic planning.”
McBrayer is unsure if he will apply for the provost position. His decision will depend on whether he believes he is doing the job well, but he does not see himself in the role long-term.
“So in my head, let’s just say hypothetically the university says, ‘God, Greg, you’re so great, you can have the provost position as long as you want.’ Fine. I will tell you this—I do not see myself doing this 10 to 20 years from now.”
With the new interim provost in place, additional AU leadership positions will be announced soon.
