The College of William and Mary will soon have a larger international presence.
The two announced candidates for the College’s next vice president for international affairs are Dr. Ethan Kapstein, a professor at the University of Texas, and Dr. Steve Hanson, a professor at the University of Washington. Kapstein and Hanson will both be attending open forums this week in order to discuss their goals for the vice provost position.
“The candidates who have been selected by the search committee to come to campus all have impressive backgrounds, and I look forward to their campus visits,” College Provost Michael Halleran said. “The open forum is an opportunity for the full campus community — faculty, students, staff, administrators — to hear from the candidates directly about their views on international education and initiatives in this area.”
Halleran announced a search to fill the position Jan. 28.
“The vice provost is part of the provost’s administrative team and works closely with deans, other vice provosts and faculty to promote the strengthening and expansion of our international programs,” the job description reads. “The vice provost serves as an advocate for all international programs and initiatives, and collaborates with faculty, students and other constituencies in both sustaining existing international initiatives and building new ones.”
The position requires a distinguished record of achievement in academia or in international affairs, leadership and administrative skills, and an ability to secure external funding.
The position of vice provost includes the director of the Wendy and Emery Reves Center for International Studies, which supports the various international studies and study-abroad programs at the College, as well as faculty international research. The vice provost would serve as its director and oversee the Reves Center staff.
During the next few weeks, the candidates chosen as finalists for the position will meet with faculty, Reves Center staff, deans, search committee members and administrators. In addition, the candidates will attend an open forum hosted by the search committee to discuss their plans, should they be chosen for the position.
Following each forum, an evaluation form will be available online in order to aid in the decision process. A final decision will likely be made before the conclusion of the semester, in late March or early April.