By Maureen Brakke, director of Marketing & Communications

The American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) has selected 22 outstanding higher education leaders to participate in its 2023 Academy for New Provosts (ANP), a leadership development program designed for the specific needs of new provosts at state colleges and universities. The program, which is in its fourth year, allows cohort members to connect with their peers as they learn strategies for tackling the distinctive challenges they will face in their role. 

The 2023 Academy for New Provosts met in Washington, D.C., Oct. 24-26 for their first in-person gathering. The group will also participate in monthly virtual learning and networking sessions. ANP is made possible in part by generous support from AASCU strategic partner Ad Astra. 

Western’s new Provost Jose Coll was selected to be part of the latest cohort. Coll was most recently the Dean of the School of Social Work and Interim Dean of the College of Education at Portland State University and has held administrative and faculty positions at Texas State University, University of Southern California, and Saint Leo University. His research interests have been predominantly on worldview development and veteran transition. He is the author and co-editor of numerous publications, including The Counselor’s Primer for Counseling Veterans, The Handbook of Military Social Work, Student Veterans in Higher Education: A Primer for Administrators, and Civilian Lives of U.S. Veterans: Issues and Identities.

“AASCU is proud to once again provide specialized guidance, expertise, and support that helps newly minted provosts succeed,” said Terry Brown, vice president for academic innovation and transformation at AASCU. “The complexities of being a provost cannot be understated, and ANP members leave the program with the tools they need to enhance their leadership skills and grow into this vital role.”

ANP will prepare new provosts to build trust through effective communication; strengthen their psychological and physical resilience; navigate between the president’s vision and the expectations of faculty members; integrate academic planning with budget, facility, and IT planning; manage key relationships for success; and understand principles of exemplary academic leadership, change management, and university finance and budget.

View the 2023-24 ANP cohort.

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The American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) is a Washington, D.C.-based higher education association of 350 public colleges, universities, and systems whose members share a learning- and teaching-centered culture, a historic commitment to underserved student populations, and a dedication to research and creativity that advances their regions’ economic progress and cultural development. These are institutions Delivering America’s Promise.