University of Texas dean named Iowa's new provostJon Whitmore, dean of the College of Fine Arts at the University of Texas at Austin, has been named University of Iowa provost and professor with tenure in the Department of Theatre Arts. Whitmore's appointment will be effective Aug. 1."I am absolutely delighted that Jon Whitmore will be coming to Iowa," University President Mary Sue Coleman said. "He will be a superb addition to the University leadership and will be an outstanding provost. I have been impressed by his creativity, his vision, and his commitment to academic excellence." |
 | The
new provost will succeed Peter E. Nathan, who stepped down as provost and
returned to the faculty in the Department of Psychology Jan. 1. In addition
to serving as the chief academic officer from 1990 to 1995, Nathan served
as acting president in the interim period between the resignation of President
Hunter R. Rawlings III and the appointment of President Mary Sue Coleman.
Whitmore earned bachelor's and master's degrees in speech and theatre from Washington State University and a doctorate in the dramatic arts from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He joined the faculty in the theatre department at West Virginia University in 1974 and remained there until 1985. During that time, he served as chair of the division of theatre from 1979-83, was assistant to the president from 1983-84 and interim dean of the College of Creative Arts from 1984-85. |
| From 1985-90, he was dean of
the Faculty of Arts and Letters and professor of theatre at the State University
of New York at Buffalo. In 1990, Whitmore was named dean of the College
of Fine Arts at UT-Austin. He also holds an academic appointment as the
Effie Marie Cain Regents Chair and Professor of Theatre. As dean of the College of Fine Arts, Whitmore heads a faculty of 200 in the departments of art and art history, theatre and dance, and the school of music. He also oversees the Archer M. Huntington Art Gallery, a performing arts center with seven theatres, a visual resources library, the Center for Modernism, Center for Drama and Performance Studies, and a planned Center for Interactive and Digital Arts Studies slated to open in September this year. Whitmore has taught undergraduate courses in American and world theatre history, dramatic literature, beginning and advanced directing, and introduction to theatre. He also has taught graduate courses in American theatre history, contemporary theatre, directing, theatre research, performance theory, and dramatic theory. He has directed more than 60 theatrical performance, including plays, improvisations, mimes, happenings, and performances pieces. In addition, as executive producer for the theatre department at West Virginia University, he produced more than 50 main stage and 80 laboratory productions. His most recent books include Directing Postmodern Theatre: Shaping Signification in Performance and William Saroyan: A Research and Production Sourcebook. He is also the editor of a book in progress, William Saroyan's Last Words. He was recently honored by the Women's Studies Program at UT-Austin with the "Contributor of the Year Award." Among his other awards and honors are membership in the Philosophical Society of Texas and the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society. In 1991, he was the theatre delegate for the Citizens Ambassadors Program to the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia. At Iowa, the provost is the chief academic officer and reports directly to the president. The provost is responsible for the overall supervision of all academic programs, academic promotion and tenure decisions, academic strategic planning, and implementation of affirmative action in the academic area. In addition to being concerned with all aspects of student affairs, the provost is also a principal participant in decision-making involving overall University strategic planning and budget development, management of auxiliary enterprises, health care services, and the conduct of research and scholarship. by University News Services |
