With great pleasure I share the appointment of our new provost, Dr. Sue J. Mattison. Her experience, leadership, and values will make her an excellent addition to our Bulldog family. We expect Provost Mattison to begin in summer 2016.

Sue was selected for a number of reasons. Above all was her contagious commitment to the student experience and to the integrity of the University’s academic core. Her passion for strengthening academic programs while promoting intellectual vitality will be important in Drake’s efforts to achieve our aspirations and to ensure we continue to fulfill the promise of our mission statement.

Many of Provost Mattison’s accomplishments and areas of focus during her career, which includes leadership positions at UW-Green Bay and the University of Northern Iowa, align with our mission and strategic priorities.

• While at UW-Green Bay, Sue led several successful accreditation initiatives, experience that will help guide the University through our upcoming HLC re-accreditation. Her focus on data-driven decision-making aligns well with our efforts to create a more evidence-based culture of continuous improvement.
• She brings commitment and experience in recruiting and retaining diverse students, faculty, and staff and improving access to higher education.
• In addition, Sue has proven herself a champion of faculty scholarship and places great value on building trusting and respectful relationships at all levels of the institution.

My heartfelt thanks to the faculty, staff, and students who attended the open forums and provided feedback on each of our excellent candidates. Your engagement was crucial to selecting Provost Mattison and will be important as she begins her time at Drake. I’d also like to thank the search committee for their time-intensive and enthusiastic dedication to executing a successful and transparent search process.

I am excited for our future as Sue begins what I’m sure will be a long and fruitful tenure at Drake. She will visit campus in the spring semester to meet more members of the Drake community; I have been assured we will be made aware of the details of her visit as they are finalized.

Please join me in welcoming Provost Mattison to the Bulldog community.

—Darcie Vandegrift, Chair, Provost Search Committee