Provost's Message: Excited to Continue Our Work
02/18/2021
In a message Thursday, Feb. 18, Provost Michael Lewis, Ph.D., shared his plans to continue partnering with faculty and staff to enhance education for SLU students.
Dear Colleagues,
Yesterday’s announcement by President Pestello, naming me as SLU’s next permanent provost, was incredibly humbling. I appreciate the support from the community Fred noted in his message. This community has been an extended family to me for nearly 17 years; I am excited and grateful to continue partnering with faculty and staff to enhance our student educational experience and to raise the prominence of our scholarship and research. This university is a great institution, with great people. We have a Mission that transcends time and place, and it is particularly suited to address the current issues facing society. Saint Louis University has so many opportunities, and we have so much to offer our city, region, and the world. I will work tirelessly to ensure we reach our potential.
I look forward to continuing with our current work. We need to address diversity, equity, and inclusion at SLU – in faculty hiring and retention, in student enrollment and success, and in curricular development – and this will be a long-term priority. Our new University Core needs continued support, and we must assure the success of next year’s pilot. The attention to managing our resources more effectively and efficiently needs to remain a constant. And we must become more flexible and nimble in developing new ways to attract and enroll students.
While many of our current issues will require attention for the foreseeable future, the time will come soon enough to think more broadly about SLU’s opportunities. As I wrote in my application for this position, and said multiple times during my interviews, the most exciting part of the leadership profile was the call to develop an academic strategic plan. I look forward to working with faculty and staff to start work on this effort.
Again, I am humbled and excited to be SLU’s provost. I want to thank the provost search committee chair, Dr. Jonathan Sawday, and the search committee for their work, and significant time investment, on the search. Thank you to President Pestello for trusting me with this important role, and thank you to the SLU community for your support. I look forward to our continued work together.
Sincerely,Mike Lewis, Ph.D. Provost