Illinois Wesleyan University has a new provost. John Miles joins IWU in July after 18 months without a permanent leader guiding the university's faculty and curriculum.
Miles was most recently provost and vice president of academic affairs at Reinhardt University, a private liberal arts institution in Georgia, slightly smaller than Illinois Wesleyan.
"I'm excited to join such a dedicated community of faculty, staff and leaders at Illinois Wesleyan," Miles said in a statement. "With the university's long history of a distinctive blend of broad-based, liberal arts education combined with strong pre-professional programs — and a proven ability to continually evolve over its 175-year history — IWU is well positioned to face many challenges facing higher education. I look forward to the opportunity to help guide the next steps in the institution's future."
Miles replaces interim provost Dave Marvin, a business professor who is retiring after more than three decades at the university. Marvin stepped into the role when interim provost Abigail Kerr left the university a year ago. Kerr had stepped in for then-provost Mark Brodl, who stepped down and to return to teaching.
Miles' appointment comes one year into IWU president Sheahon Zenger’s tenure. Before her departure, previous president Georgia Nugent said the decision to install an interim provost was intentional, to afford Zenger the opportunity to pick his own head of the faculty—a position regarded as a right hand to the president.
"I'm immensely pleased to welcome John Miles to the Titan family," Zenger said in a statement. "He brings a strong background in the liberal arts and shared faculty governance, and is known as a trusted leader who builds connections with faculty, staff and students."
At Reinhardt, Miles overhauled general education requirements, created offices of student success and undergraduate research and secured grants supporting new programs, labs and equipment. Prior to Reinhardt, he was part of the English faculty and director of the writing center at Wofford College in South Carolina. He attended University of North Carolina, North Carolina State University and University of New Mexico, where he supplemented his Ph.D. studies in English with concentrations in rhetoric and composition, and Native American literature and rhetoric.
