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Upon former Provost Richard Telfer's confirmation as UW-Whitewater's 15th Chancellor in June 2008, the position of provost, essentially the university's second-in-command, opened up.
The university issued a nation-wide advertisement announcing the search for a permanent replacement on July 15, 2009, with Chris Clemens acting as provost in the interim.
A search and screen committee charged with finding a permanent replacement defines the provost as "Chief Academic Officer of the university [that] reports directly to the Chancellor. The provost is a member of the Chancellor's administrative staff and serves as the ranking university officer on campus in the Chancellor's absence."
Led by John Stone, dean of Continuing Education, the committee has narrowed their search to four finalists: Martin Tadlock, current assistant vice chancellor at UW-Oshkosh, Alan Hartman, current professor and former interim provost at UW-Oshkosh, Robert Augustine, current dean of the Eastern Illinois University's graduate school, and Beverly Kopper, current associate provost at the University of North Iowa.
It's clear all four finalists are exceptionally qualified for the job, sporting lengthy resumes that feature impressive academic and administrative accomplishments, awards, published works and directly relevant experience.
Though all are very strong and certainly quite capable, one finalist, Tadlock, possessed a slight edge that distinguished him from the competition in the opinion of the Royal Purple.
Most notably, Tadlock's resume appeares to effectively and in a delineated manner address the written job criteria set forth in the search and screen committee's official job description.
For example, Tadlock addressed the requirement "manage divisional staffing plans and allocations, budget development, incremental and base budget increases and reductions, as well as salary and merit considerations" in his resume, stating his current job had him "[providing oversight as assistant vice chancellor at UW-Oshkosh in] growth in off campus credit program headcount from 298 to 410 to 525 expected," and "[providing oversight as assistant vice chancellor at UW-Oshkosh in] growth in divisional academic staff, classified staff, and faculty from 28 to 44 FTE."
This theme is the case for much of the resume, and assuming everything is true, it indicates past successes and experiences that match up well with what will be expected of the new provost.
Furthermore, while both Tadlock and Kopper currently serve in assistant provost-type capacities, Tadlock enjoys the advantage of coming from immediately within the UW System. Moreover, the potential for fresh, out-of-state ideas isn't lost, since Tadlock has worked outside the UW System in years prior.
Of course, one's resume and past experience by no means guarantee future success. Environmental, social and political factors, among many others, can have a big impact on a hire's effectiveness.
This means that while the Royal Purple likes what it sees in Tadlock, who seems best fit for the job based on his relevant accomplishments, experience and career track, it isn't to say one or more of the other candidates doesn't possess some currently-unseen virtues.
In the end, we hope the search and screen committee's recommendations, which are confidential as with most personel matters, are strongly considered by a fair and objective Chancellor, who ultimately decides who to hire.
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