The University announced the creation of an ad hoc selection consultative committee to replace Karen Detlefsen, who has served as the Vice Provost of Education since 2021.
Credit: Jean ParkProvost John Jackson Jr. appointed a new ad hoc consultative committee to search for the University’s next vice provost for education.
The vice provost for education primarily serves to develop educational policies that promote interdisciplinary learning, academic excellence, and innovative teaching styles on both the graduate and undergraduate levels. The role also involves advising leadership across Penn’s various schools, including serving as chair of the Council of Undergraduate Deans and the Graduate Council of the Faculties.
The current vice provost for education, Karen Detlefsen, has served in the role since 2021 and has taught at Penn since 2001 as a professor of philosophy and education.
Many on-campus departments providing student services — including College Houses and Academic Services, the Graduate Student Center, the Family Resource Center, the Center for Community Standards and Accountability, and New Student Orientation and Academic Initiatives — also report to the vice provost for education.
The selection committee will be led by Deputy Provost and Eduardo D. Glandt President’s Distinguished Professor Beth Winkelstein. Other professors from across Penn’s four undergraduate schools and 12 graduate schools will comprise the rest of the committee, along with College senior and Undergraduate Assembly President Ria Ellendula and Graduate and Professional Student Assembly President Meruyert Bizhanova.
According to the Almanac, the ideal candidate “will have extensive knowledge of the University and its policies and practices, experience working with students and academic programs, and skills in addressing sensitive issues in an effective and principled manner.” The statement went on to emphasize that a key aspect of the position involves the oversight of confidential information.
Only currently tenured faculty are invited to enter the application process, which ends on March 17.
Jackson was appointed in 2023 by former Penn President Liz Magill as the successor to former Provost Wendell Pritchett, who departed the role in May 2021. Jackson has previously launched ad hoc advisory committees when making University-wide decisions, including selecting the H. Carton Rogers III Vice Provost and Director of the Penn Libraries in 2023 and strengthening relationships between Penn and the Philadelphia community in 2024.
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