USU appoints interim provost to replace Noelle Cockett
Larry Smith, who is currently executive senior vice provost, will serve as university provost until a search committee finishes its nationwide search to permanently fill the position.
On Oct. 26, current Provost Noelle Cockett was named president of Utah State University — she will be sworn in in January.
A search committee composed of multiple employees will be formed in January. It will be headed by Joe Ward, dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.
The executive vice president and provost act as academic officers. They are primarily responsible for overseeing the College of Education and Human Services, the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, the College of Natural Resources, the College of Engineering, the College of the Arts, the College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences and the School of Business.
In a university press release, Smith said, “I will devote myself to keeping the academic enterprise at USU running strong and help the colleges, departments and faculty continue positive momentum, promote student success and assist President Cockett in moving her agenda forward.”
Since 2003, Smith has held several administrative roles, including dean of the School of Graduate Studies and different roles in the provost office.
Smith has an academic background in physiology and cell science. Smith spent years doing post-doctoral work at universities in the east, and in 1989 he began a career at Idaho State University, where he was the founding director of the Molecular Research Core Facility.
During his time at USU, Smith worked with the provost in multiple responsibilities, including chair of the university Educational Policies Committee and leading the New Faculty Tenure Academy.
“We will conduct a national search to look for the candidate who best matches our mission, our core principles and our long term aspirations as a major research university and as a Utah’s land grant institution,” Cockett said in a university press release.
The search committee is expected to be formed in February and will conduct interviews in September.