A familiar face is taking on a new permanent role on the Emporia State campus.
Brent Thomas, currently the dean of Liberal Arts and Sciences, interim provost and vice president for academic affairs, has been named as the permanent provost. He tells KVOE News it was important to bring familiarity and continuity to the position, which essentially serves as the university’s chief academic officer.
Thomas came to ESU in 2006 as an associate professor and has served as chair of the biological sciences department before being named dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences in 2014. He has served as co-interim provost since September alongside Joan Brewer. Over the past three months, he has been a face for the university’s Framework for Workforce Management and reinvestment initiatives that have led to new or restored programs and positions, facility upgrades and over 30 faculty and staff cuts — driven by a 29-percent decline in on-campus enrollment since 2017 and a 7-percent overall dip despite an increase of nearly 30 percent in graduate students the past five years, along with needed but “non-strategic” budget cuts. Thomas says the reinvestment phase has gone well.
Thomas was one of four finalists to have on-campus interviews, including Sean Lane of Alabama-Huntsville, Greg Haddock of Northwest Missouri State and Alberto Ruiz of Louisiana-Monroe.
Thomas isn’t delving into specifics now, but he is looking at changing certain things about how the provost position operates to foster more efficiency.
University President Ken Hush says Thomas was selected for “his leadership, his ability to forge relationships and for his vision for the future of Emporia State University.” Hush also credited Thomas for being “critical in helping ESU plan a bright new future.”
Thomas fills the positions that opened up after the university parted ways with George Arasimowicz in February after less than a year on the job. Arasimowicz had replaced David Cordle, who retired in June 2021.
Thomas vacates his role as dean of Liberal Arts and Sciences. ESU will announce plans for filling that position at a later time.
