Ithaca College has announced the formation of a search committee for the new assistant provost for finance and administrative operations, which will be chaired by Leslie Lewis, dean of the School of Humanities and Sciences.
David Garcia, former associate provost for business intelligence, announced his departure in January and is now provost and chief academic officer at Carthage College. Garcia served as executive associate dean of H&S before he joined the Office of the Provost in 2012. The committee is beginning the search this month, more than nine months after his announcement.
Lewis said the delay in beginning the search was to allow for administrative changes in the provost’s office.
“Some reorganization has taken place in the provost’s office, and it was important for this reorganization to occur before moving forward with this position,” Lewis said.
As the associate provost for business intelligence, Garcia oversaw campus data analyses that were considered in institutional decisions in the office of the provost. Lewis said the new position has expanded to include the responsibilities of the financial manager for the offices of both the provost and the president.
“Taking on the budget responsibilities for the president’s office made good sense because this is not a very extensive budget, and the work can therefore be folded into the work needed for the division of educational affairs,” Lewis said. “The position is for an assistant provost and not an associate provost, which was David Garcia’s title.”
Lewis said the desired candidate would need a variety of skills to handle the expanded position.
“The provost is seeking someone who can work with the budgets for educational affairs and the president’s office and also provide leadership with regard to administrative operations,” she said.
Four other members of the college will join Lewis in the search: Diane Long, associate professor and chair of the occupational therapy department; Yuko Mulugetta, director of enrollment planning; Robert Cree, associate vice president for business and finance; and David Pacun, interim associate dean of the School of Music.
“We wanted a representative group, but at the same time needed members who have clear understanding of financial operations at a complex institution like Ithaca College,” Lewis said.
Pacun said he looked forward to serving on the committee because of his past encounters with Garcia.
“David Garcia was a great resource on budgets for me as an interim associate dean, a great supporter of the School of Music and a vital resource for the college as a whole,” he said. “I hope to work with committee members to find the best candidate for the position.”
Cree said the provost’s office asked him to serve on the committee, and he assumed the reason for this was to provide representation from someone with a financial background.
“This particular position will be performing a lot of financial analysis, budgeting and projections for the academic affairs unit and will work very closely with our budget and financial services offices,” he said. “Since I oversee those areas here on campus, she wanted to make sure the representation was there.”
Cree said he was happy to serve on the committee for the experience of hearing valuable viewpoints.
“As with any search process that I’ve been involved with, I always look forward to working with colleagues from other divisions and departments across campus and hearing their points of view on the process as well,” he said.
Pacun said the committee’s first meeting is scheduled to take place Oct. 6.
A new assistant provost is expected to be announced by the end of the semester, Lewis said.
