1/12/98
Contact: Patricia Bayer Richard, (740) 593-1935.
ATHENS, Ohio -- Patricia Bayer Richard has been named to the newly created position of associate provost for undergraduate studies at Ohio University.
Richard will continue to serve as dean of University College, which encompasses a number of programs offering support and guidance to undergraduate students. She sees her new role as one that both complements her current responsibilities and offers a clear sign of Ohio University's commitment to its more than 16,000 undergraduate students.
"I'll be keeping a focus on the undergraduates and their experience and working to ensure that we improve and enrich that experience," Richard said. "I'm very excited about having this opportunity."
A top priority, she said, will be to ensure that no administrative or academic decisions are made without strongly considering their effect on undergraduate students. Richard also said she will stress collaboration as a means of improving programs for undergraduates, work to bring faculty together to create new and possibly alternative programs for students, and look at such resources as technology as ways to improve the learning experience.
Provost Sharon Brehm said she is very pleased Richard is joining her office.
"Dr. Richard has made many important contributions to the quality of undergraduate education at Ohio University, and this new position will facilitate her future efforts to develop innovative new programs and promote coordination and cooperation throughout the university," Brehm said.
Joel Rudy, vice president for student affairs, called Richard "a strong advocate for undergraduate programs at Ohio University."
"It is my hope that this newly created position will further strengthen our commitment to the total undergraduate experience, including broadening the university's definition of continuous orientation and retention of our diverse undergraduate population," Rudy said.
Richard, 51, joined Ohio University in 1972 as a political science instructor. She became an assistant professor in 1975, an associate professor in 1984 and a full professor in 1990. She has served since 1992 as dean of University College. Her past positions have included director of both the political science graduate program and the Center for Political Communication. A former chair of Faculty Senate, she also was one of the founders of Ohio University's Women's Studies Program.
In addition to her administrative responsibilities, Richard is co-teaching a Technology and Public Policy course this quarter and will co-teach a pilot senior seminar in the spring.
Richard was named one of the nation's Outstanding Freshman Advocates last year by the Center for the Freshman Year Experience. She currently serves as president of the Association of Deans of University Colleges and Directors of Undergraduate Studies.