I am pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Daniel J. Myers as the new provost and chief academic officer of American University and professor of sociology effective January 15, 2019.  

In this role, Dan will provide leadership for the university’s eight schools and colleges; the University Library; Washington Semester Program; AU Abroad; Center for Teaching, Research, and Learning; Career Center; and offices of Enrollment, Institutional Research and Assessment, Sponsored Programs, and Registrar.

From 2015 to 2018, Dan served as provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at Marquette University where he was a professor in the Department of Social and Cultural Science. He directly supervised all aspects of academic affairs and had joint oversight of the university budget. He focused on strong faculty relations, built a model of faculty development and enhanced interdisciplinarity through cluster hiring. In addition, Dan accumulated a record of significant accomplishments in diversity and inclusion, which included a campus climate study and action plan, a new LGBTQ+ resource center and faculty/staff affinity groups, a Race and Ethnic Studies program, and new hiring protocols for faculty and staff searches. In November, Dan stepped down as provost and returned to the faculty.

Prior to Marquette, Dan was at the University of Notre Dame as vice president and associate provost for faculty affairs. At Notre Dame, Myers designed and managed a $13.5 million competitive cross-disciplinary cluster hiring process, which launched new faculty groupings and led to increased research output and funding. During his 17 years (1998-2015) at Notre Dame, he was associate dean of the College of Arts and Letters, director of faculty research and development for the Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, founding director for the Center for the Study of Social Movements and Social Change, and professor of sociology.  

Dan earned a doctorate and master’s degree in sociology from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. He also holds a master’s in higher education and student affairs and a bachelor’s in political science from Ohio State University. He has written five books and co-authored or authored more than 30 peer-reviewed articles. He was a member of the Sociology Advisory Panel of the National Science Foundation from 2007-2011. Additionally, Dan has been a referee for almost 40 journals and book publishers, including American Political Science Review, American Journal of Sociology, Gender and Society, Journal of Peace Research, Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, Rural Sociology, Science, Sociological Quarterly, and Rutgers University Press.

Dan is deeply committed to the integration of scholarship, teaching, and student life as the defining goal of a university, and he has a record of success in achieving it. He is clearly committed to the elements of our strategy, which we shared as a prominent component of the search process.

I commend the work of the Provost Search Committee, co-chaired by Dean Christine Chin, School of International Service, and Dean Jeffrey Rutenbeck, School of Communication. I want to thank the representatives of the AU community who participated in interviews. Their insights were immensely valuable during the selection process. I also want to acknowledge the work of the Spencer Stuart executive search consulting firm in conducting a high caliber national search yielding a diverse pool of excellent candidates.

I also wish to express my gratitude to our colleague, Mary Clark. Since July, she has served as interim provost with enthusiasm and showed true commitment and leadership during our national search. Mary helped us maintain momentum, particularly during the critical phases of development of our strategic plan. She has our deepest appreciation as she prepares to assist Dan in his transition and returns to her role as dean of academic affairs.

Please join me in congratulating and welcoming Dan as the next provost of American University.