{"id":96719,"date":"2025-09-19T09:46:19","date_gmt":"2025-09-19T13:46:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/danielschristian.com\/learning-ecosystems\/?p=96719"},"modified":"2025-09-19T09:46:19","modified_gmt":"2025-09-19T13:46:19","slug":"provosts-are-a-release-valve-for-campus-controversy-whitford-a-variety-of-items-re-higher-education-in-general","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/danielschristian.com\/learning-ecosystems\/2025\/09\/19\/provosts-are-a-release-valve-for-campus-controversy-whitford-a-variety-of-items-re-higher-education-in-general\/","title":{"rendered":"“Provosts Are a \u2018Release Valve\u2019 for Campus Controversy” [Whitford] + a variety of items re: higher education in general"},"content":{"rendered":"

Provosts Are a \u2018Release Valve\u2019 for Campus Controversy<\/strong><\/a> — from insidehighered.com by Emma Whitford
\nAccording to former Western Michigan provost Julian Vasquez Heilig, provosts are stuck driving change with few, if any, allies, while simultaneously playing crisis manager for the university.<\/em><\/p>\n

After two years, he stepped down, and he now serves as a professor of educational leadership, research and technology at Western Michigan. His frustrations with the provost role had less to do with Western Michigan and more to do with how the job is designed, he explained. \u201cEach person sees the provost a little differently. The faculty see the provost as administration, although, honestly, around the table at the cabinet, the provost is probably the only faculty member,\u201d Heilig said. \u201cThe trustees\u2014they see the provost as a middle manager below the president, and the president sees [the provost] as a buffer from issues that are arising.\u201d<\/p>\n

Inside Higher Ed\u00a0sat down with Heilig to talk about the provost job and all he\u2019s learned about the role through years of education leadership research, conversations with colleagues and his own experience.<\/p>\n

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