Dear Colleagues:
I am writing to announce some
changes in the Provost’s Office. First, I am pleased to appoint Dean of the
Graduate School and Professor of Communication Gerald (Jerry) Baldasty as
senior vice provost for academic and student affairs, effective August 1,
2012. This is a new position, reflecting our interest in enhancing the
student experience at the UW for all students—undergraduate, graduate, and professional. Tremendous changes in technology, demographics, and student learning styles
require us to think more creatively about our approach to teaching and
learning, and Jerry is well prepared to lead our work.
A native of Spokane, Jerry has
been a Husky for more than 40 years—as an undergraduate, graduate student,
faculty member, and vice provost and dean. He received his B.A. from the
UW in Communications in 1972, a master’s in Mass Communications from the other UW, the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and
then returned here to earn his Ph.D. in Communications in 1978. He joined our
faculty that year and subsequently served as chair of the Department of
Communication from 2002 to 2008. In 2008, he became interim vice provost and
dean of the Graduate School, and then vice provost and dean in 2009. He
is also an adjunct professor in the Department of American Ethnic Studies, and
in the Department of Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies.
His scholarly work focuses on U.S.
communication history in the 19th and early 20th
centuries, with an emphasis on political communication and on media
economics. His books include The Commercialization of News in the 19th
Century (University of Wisconsin Press,
1992), E.W. Scripps and the Business of Newspapers (University of
Illinois Press, 1999), and Vigilante Newspapers: A Tale of Sex,
Religion and Murder in the Northwest (University of Washington Press,
2005).
In 2000, Jerry won a UW Distinguished
Teaching Award, and he has served as Director of the
Teaching Academy. He chaired the 2005 committee to “Improve the Quality of the
UW Undergraduate Experience,” and has been extensively involved in diversity
initiatives and professional development work as dean of the Graduate
School. He remembers well, and values, his undergraduate education at UW,
where he was involved in his department’s honors program, learned critical
thinking and research skills, enriched his class learning through internships,
and benefited from strong faculty mentorship. This experience,
coupled with his own UW record in research, teaching and collaborative
leadership, make him the right choice for our new position of senior vice
provost for academic and student affairs. Please join me in welcoming him to
this new and important position.
I also want to inform you that
Doug Wadden, Executive Vice Provost since 2008, will be leaving that position
effective December 31, 2012. Doug has been a faculty member at the UW since
1970 and for many years served as chair of the Design program in our School of
Art. He served as Interim Provost this past year. Doug has had a long and
distinguished career as a member of our faculty and as a faculty leader,
serving on numerous university committees, being elected chair of the Faculty
Senate, and accepting various administrative assignments throughout his career.
His work in the Provost’s Office has been outstanding, and he has worked hard
to be a resource for our academic programs and an enabler for our faculty to
innovate and excel. He will be taking a well-earned professional leave and will
return to the faculty at its conclusion. Please join me in thanking him for his
dedicated and superb work on behalf of our University.
Sincerely,
Ana Mari Cauce
Provost and Executive Vice President
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