Longwood University announced Joan Neff as the new university provost and vice president for academic affairs. Neff will be succeeding Ken Perkins, who announced his resignation at the beginning of the academic year. Neff will officially step into the position after the end of this semester.
“The remarkable quality of our applicant pool is a tremendous testament to Longwood and our momentum here. But as I have gotten to know Joan, she has stood out, and deeply impressed me as someone with the values, vision and experience to lead the academic enterprise at Longwood, building on the great work of Ken Perkins,” Reveley said. “What Joan has helped Richmond to accomplish is remarkable, and her enthusiasm for Longwood and its public mission is palpable and invigoration.”
Neff will be coming from the University of Richmond, where she served as an associate provost since 2009. She has spent more than 30 years with the university as a professor, department chair and associate provost, and “has played an instrumental role in that institution’s ascent from regional, to national prominence.”
The national search for a new provost brought in more than 90 applications for the position. The search process was brought down to six finalists, who met with the search committee and President Reveley.
The search committee consisted of, nine faculty members, and all six of Longwood’s academic deans, as well as representatives for students and staff, according to a Longwood issued Press Release. After the search committee met with the final applicants, they chose three finalists to present to Reveley for the position. Reveley then spent more time with each applicant and spoke with the Board of Visitors before choosing a new provost.
“My first love, my first commitment, has been teaching and working with students. I picked that up as a primary focus at Longwood,” Neff said. “Longwood is a place where you find teaching on a human scale, while at the same time providing faculty and students with an opportunity to do research, and in very meaningful collaborative ways that larger institutions may not be able to accomplish.”
Neff will officially assume the position on July 1.
