Dr. Eun-Woo Chang resigned unexpectedly from his position as Provost at Ashland University during winter break. Dr. Todd Marshall, former Associate Provost is now fulfilling the role of Interim Provost, as well as maintaining his positions in the Correctional Education Program and the College of Online and Adult Studies.

The departure of Chang came as a surprise for many faculty members as he recently participated in a year-long Presidential Vocation and Institutional Mission program in May of 2017. The circumstances into Chang’s resignation still remain a mystery

Dr. Carlos Campo gave a statement on Jan. 14 regarding Chang’s time at AU.

“Dr. Eun-Woo Chang was an asset to Ashland University during his time here, and we wish him only the best in all his future endeavors.”

Amid the change in leadership, the goals of Marshall resemble that of Chang. He plans to apply for the position of long-term Provost as of now.

“Our goal is to help students have all of the educational experiences they need to graduate and to prepare for their next step in life. This semester I’m focusing on those fundamentals,” said Marshall.

His top two priorities are continuing the semester as smoothly as possible and preparing academic affairs for whoever will become the long-term Provost.

“My goal is that whoever that person is, is that they will be prepared for success and things will be clear, concise and all ready for them when they sit in that chair.”

The main job of Provost is setting academic priorities with the President of the University. The Provost is responsible for overseeing all of the students (traditional, online and correctional).

Marshall has filled the role of interim Provost prior to Chang’s time as Provost in April of 2016.

“Part of the challenge is that I have additional duties and workload that I did before, or that Dr. Chang had.”

Chang left behind multi-year projects that were in the early stages, but the projects will not be discarded. Chang began discussions of a Physician’s Assistant program with the College of Nursing and Health Sciences which would be a three-year process, but the program will not be affected by the change.

“We’ve talked about how we’re going to move that [Physician’s Assistant program] forward, so those programs will all continue. There are no sudden turns, no big changes.”

The balance of the three positions has motivated Marshall to dive into AU with a full understanding of how different departments work interconnectedly.

“In Correctional Education we have a great team of experienced professionals so I’m delegating more. Sometimes I would have met with them more frequently, or had more specific discussions, but they are now doing more on their own,” he said. “This is a natural transition that I would have planned anyhow because the key to leadership is that you identify the right people, you hire the right people and you trust them.”

The search process for a fill-in will begin this spring, but there is no way of knowing how it will turn out or who will be the candidates for the position.

“My wife and I were called to Ashland and our goal is to serve here as best as possible, so I’m here to serve the University in whatever position fits… My goal would be that the students really would almost feel like nothing happened- nothing changed. The programs continue, classes continue.” Marshall said, “You’ll see a new Provost around, but everything will continue as it is.”

Dr. Chang was contacted for comment, but a response was not received.