The number two administrator at Illinois Wesleyan University is stepping down at the end of the year to return to the classroom.
Provost and Dean of Faculty Mark Brodl will leave his position on Dec. 31. He intends to remain at IWU, moving into the faculty to teach biology.
Brodl came to Illinois Wesleyan in 2017, replacing Jonathan Green. He was previously a professor of biology at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, and department chair at Knox College in Galesburg.
As the dean of faculty, Brodl drove curricular decisions during the COVID-19 pandemic. His tenure also overlapped with a task force that initiated a cost-saving program audit at the university. That exercise resulted in cutting several liberal arts programs with waning enrollment, including French, Greek and Roman studies and anthropology majors. The American Association of University Professors criticized the administration for its handling of that process.
Alongside the cuts, IWU implemented professionally-oriented new majors like public health and criminology and bolstering pathways for studying entrepreneurship and engineering.
“Mark Brodl has served in his role with integrity and compassion. He has been an excellent thought partner and has also become a friend,” IWU president Georgia Nugent said in a statement. “His intention is to take a well-deserved leave and then return, with renewed excitement, to his passion: teaching and research in biology.”
In a statement, Brodl said the decision to step down allows him to return to what he loves as he nears retirement.
“As I look back on my career in academia, the work that has brought me greatest joy has been being a professor in the classroom working with students,” he said. “I look forward to returning to my teaching roots and the opportunity to work with the people of IWU in a role I love deeply.”
Abbie Kerr, associate dean for scholarly and creative work, will serve as interim provost beginning Jan. 1. Kerr also is a professor of psychology at IWU, and leads the neuroscience program. Associate provost Becky Roesner and Amy Coles, associate dean for curriculum and instruction, will remain in those roles.
