June 7, 2004

Maryanski Appointed Interim Provost

President Philip E. Austin has announced that Fred Maryanski, senior vice provost, will serve as interim provost and executive vice president for academic affairs. The appointment will take effect June 15, following the departure of Provost John D. Petersen.

A national search for a permanent appointment is now under way. Austin has named a search committee under the leadership of Robert Birge, Harold S. Schwenk Sr. Distinguished Professor of Chemistry.

"Fred Maryanski is uniquely qualified to serve as interim provost," said Austin. "He knows this institution intimately. He is committed to our goals of excellence in academic affairs and student service, and I am grateful that he has agreed to my request that he accept this assignment."

A member of the engineering faculty since 1983, Maryanski has served in the Office of the Provost for the past 15 years. As senior vice provost, he has been responsible for key aspects of the academic program and budget, the regional campuses, the Division of Undergraduate Education, and other major activities falling under the Office of the Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs. From July 1999 to June 2000, he served as interim Chancellor and Provost for University Affairs.

Maryanski holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Providence College; a master's in computer science from Stevens Institute of Technology; and a Ph.D. in computer science from UConn. He taught at Kansas State University and Worcester Polytechnic Institute before joining the UConn faculty in 1983, and worked in the Corporate Research Group of Digital Equipment Corp. From 1986 to 1989, he was head of the newly formed computer science and engineering department.

Veronica Makowsky, associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, will assume the role of interim vice provost for academic affairs, effective June 14. She will be responsible for the Division of Undergraduate Education and the regional campuses.

"Veronica has an outstanding record as a teacher and a scholar, and brings a strong commitment to quality, concern for the well-being of the students, and dedication to the University to this position," Maryanski said. "I am pleased to have her as a key member of the Provost's staff during this transitional period."

Makowsky graduated summa cum laude from Connecticut College and earned a master's and Ph.D. from Princeton University. Before coming to UConn as a professor of English and women's studies in 1993, she taught at Middlebury College and Louisiana State University. Her books are published by Oxford University Press, and she is the author of many articles on American women and southern writers. She is editor of the journal MELUS (Multi-Ethnic Literature of the United States).

As associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS) since 2000, her main focus has been on maintaining and enhancing undergraduate education for CLAS students and for all UConn students in CLAS courses.

Members of the search committee for the position of provost and executive vice president for academic affairs are:

Robert Birge, Harold S. Schwenk Sr. Distinguished Professor of Chemistry, chair;

John DeWolf, professor of civil and environmental engineering;

Kevin Fahey, associate director of campus activities, Division of Student Affairs;

Anne Hiskes, associate professor of philosophy;

Debra Kendall, Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor of Molecular & Cell Biology;

Charles "Skip" Lowe, professor and head of the psychology department;

Ronald Mallett, professor of physics;

Nell Newton, dean, School of Law;

Kelly Burke, undergraduate student, human development and family studies.

Michelle Helmin, special assistant to the provost, will provide administrative support.