Pam Benoit, vice provost for advanced studies and dean of the graduate school at the University of Missouri, will replace Kathy Krendl as Ohio University's provost July 1.
OU President Roderick McDavis announced his pick this morning. Benoit was one of three finalists the provost search committee put forth on May 15 after a series of interviews and campus forums. McDavis then invited Benoit back to campus for further visits last week before offering her the position.
Dr. Benoit has achieved an outstanding record of academic and administrative performance over a career of more than 20 years
McDavis said today through a spokeswoman. We are confident that her considerable talents and experience will lead us in building upon Ohio University's legacy of academic excellence.
Benoit, who will oversee day-to-day academic operations at the university, inherits a tight budget situation, a faculty unionization drive and tense relationships between constituent groups on campus.
Those tensions spilled into the provost search early when faculty protested the make-up of the original search committee. That committee, originally made up of 23 members, six of whom were faculty, did not conform to Faculty Handbook guidelines. Faculty Senate condemned the committee's structure and urged faculty to boycott the process. In response, McDavis formed a new committee that aligned with handbook regulations.
Evaluations from campus forums showed Benoit to be the favorite candidate among those who ranked the three. She received an average rating of 4.23 out of 5 from the 53 people who evaluated her.
Benoit said she is looking forward to the new opportunities she'll have at OU.
I am excited to become the executive vice president and provost at Ohio University because it allows me to embrace additional and new responsibilities and challenges at a remarkable public institution Benoit said through a spokeswoman.
Benoit will earn $250,000 base salary next year, along with 22 days of vacation time, reimbursement for mortgage payments on her house in Missouri ($1,086 a month) for no more than six months and a $15,000 expense allowance.
At Benoit's request, OU will also send her to the ACE Institute for New Chief Academic Officers. ACE attendance will cost $3,850, not including hotel and flight costs.
Benoit will replace Krendl, who leaves OU to become president of Otterbein College. Krendl's base salary this year was $254,921. Unlike Krendl, Benoit will not receive a university car or cell phone allowance.
Benoit has a degree in speech and previously chaired Missouri's communication department. Her husband, also a communication scholar, will become a professor of communication studies in the Scripps College of Communication and will earn a base salary of $100,000. Both will be tenured through the department of communication studies.
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Emily Grannis
