Executive Vice President & Provost Search

Summary

Methodist University (MU) invites applications and nominations for the position of executive vice president & provost. This search represents a pivotal moment in the University’s 70-year history as it seeks an authentic, visible, student-centered, entrepreneurial, strategic, and relationship-oriented partner to ensure Methodist University sustains its institutional momentum.

Reporting directly to President-elect Suzanne Blum Malley, PhD (currently serving as executive vice president & provost), the next chief academic officer will embrace the complexity of a small, regional university with undergraduate liberal arts and professional programs and a graduate program portfolio that includes master’s- and doctoral-level graduate professional programs. MU programs are offered on the 617-acre Fayetteville, North Carolina campus, at the Methodist University Cape Fear Valley Health School of Medicine, at the Fort Bragg Education Center, and online. As a private institution with an ambitious roadmap, Methodist University is uniquely positioned to be among the leading institutions in the nation that transforms this complexity into ways to better serve its students and the wider community.

The successful candidate will join a strong and experienced senior team, distinguished and innovative faculty, and dedicated staff committed to student success and to the future of MU as a vital partner and contributor to the surrounding region.

About Methodist University

Established jointly by local Fayetteville/Cumberland County, North Carolina citizens and the North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church, Methodist College was chartered in 1956, renamed Methodist University in 2006, and has grown into an institution welcoming all faiths and valuing diverse backgrounds and perspectives. Methodist University has thrived through its missional conviction that a liberally educated person is sensitive to the needs and rights of others. Methodist University affirms the importance of intellectual values and ethical principles, such as truth, virtue, justice, and love, and seeks to develop graduates who will contribute substantially and creatively to the professions and to civic life.

Stemming from its mission, Methodist University promises students that by the time they complete their chosen degrees, they will be:

• Ready for a career. MU’s portfolio of undergraduate and graduate professions-focused degree programs prepares students for a clear roadmap to career or graduate study.
• Prepared for a lifetime of reflection on meaning and purpose. In addition to being career ready, MU’s curriculum and campus programming ask students to explore their evolving sense of purpose, their “why” not just their “what,” as they reflect on how they are called to make a difference in the world around them. 
• Moral and ethical agents in the world. MU graduates leave with a well-developed sense of personal and professional ethics. This is engrained in MU’s curriculum and intentionally reinforced in all campus activities, with a focus on shared responsibility and respect for the diverse backgrounds, identities, and cultures of all people. 
• Engaged citizens. MU students learn both in the classroom and out to listen to others, especially those who are different from them; to be open to other perspectives and cultures; to find common ground for working together on solving problems; to build bridges; and to recognize our shared humanity and challenges.

Today, the University serves roughly 1,700 undergraduate and graduate students from across the United States and nearly 80 countries. Methodist University is classified by Carnegie as professions-focused and is accredited by SACSCOC as a level VI institution, offering bachelor’s degrees in over 60 fields of study organized in four colleges, with robust undergraduate programs in business, professional golf management, professional tennis management, health sciences, advanced paramedicine, nursing, pre-health professions, engineering, computer science, cybersecurity, criminal justice, forensic science, social work, teacher education, and psychology. Graduate programs include Doctor of Nursing Practice, Doctor of Occupational Therapy, Doctor of Physical Therapy, Physician Assistant (MS), Clinical Mental Health Counseling (MS), MBA, and the newly established Methodist University Cape Fear Valley Health School of Medicine.

Methodist University is proud of its ability to provide a high-quality education committed to being an institution of opportunity and social mobility by remaining affordable. Almost half of MU undergraduate students are Pell eligible, more than half are first-generation college students, and 100% of MU undergraduate students receive institutional financial support. More than 50% of MU’s undergraduate students also compete as NCAA Division III student athletes.

Search Timeline

• Mid-September 2026: Search Committee kickoff meeting and campus listening sessions
• Mid-October: Ads posted and recruitment launched
• December 12th 2026: Application deadline
• Late January 2026: Semi-Final interviews
• Early February 2026: Finalist interviews on campus
• February 2026: EVP & provost announced

Search Committee

• J.R. Hustwit, PhD, dean, College of Arts, Humanities, & Sciences – Search Committee chair
• Tat Chan, PhD, dean, College of Business, Technology, & Professional Studies
• Meredith Gronski, OTD, dean, College Health Sciences & Human Services
• Hershey Bell, MD, dean, College of Medicine/founding dean, Methodist University Cape Fear Valley Health School of Medicine
• William Walker, EdD, vice president of Student Affairs & dean of students
• Keri Walters, associate provost for Student Success
• Denise Bauer, PhD, head and professor, Division of Engineering & Environmental Studies, Faculty Senate chair
• Josh Freeman, assistant professor of Occupational Health & Safety, Faculty Senate vice chair
• Candice Phillips, PhD, assistant professor of Nursing, Faculty Senate Secretary
• Emily Leverett, PhD, professor of English, Faculty Senate Executive Committee at-large representative
• Dan Bennett, associate professor of Mathematics, Faculty Senate Executive Committee at-large representative