Academic Human Resources Leadership Transition

July 20, 2020

Dear Colleagues,

I wrote to you earlier this month about Terry Curry stepping down from his position as associate provost and associate vice president for academic human resources, as he transitions to retirement. The Office of the Provost plans to assemble a search committee and begin the process to select a new associate provost right away. The search will be internal, with the aim of announcing the selected candidate by the end of fall semester. To bridge the time until we are able to complete that process, Suzanne Lang has kindly agreed to serve as interim associate provost and associate vice president for academic human resources, effective July 20.

Dr. Lang currently serves as the associate dean for faculty and administrative affairs, and director of faculty development in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources here at MSU. In that role, she oversees the academic human resources portfolio of the college, which includes support for new faculty orientation; faculty mentoring; the reappointment, promotion and tenure process for the college; grievances/administrative reviews; Academic Program Reviews; faculty awards; and support for faculty across the spectrum of their careers, via professional development programing. She also serves as the dean’s liaison to the College Advisory Council and provides AHR support to unit leaders.

Professor Lang’s academic home is in the Department of Horticulture, where she is a scholar of whole plant physiology who has widened her focus to include teaching and learning within the classroom, faculty mentoring, and evaluation of excellence in teaching. She earned her B.S. in horticulture from MSU, her M.S. in horticulture from Clemson University, and her Ph.D. in horticulture at North Carolina State University. Before joining the faculty at MSU in 2000, she served on the faculty of Washington State University and Louisiana State University.

While Dr. Lang looks forward to assisting the university during this time of transition, she has indicated that she does not wish to be considered as a candidate for the permanent position, and that she looks forward to returning to her previous role in CANR.

Please join me in welcoming Dr. Lang to this new interim role, and in thanking Terry Curry for his dedicated service over the past 13 years.

Thomas D. Jeitschko
Acting Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs