The Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost (provost) is the chief academic officer of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, reporting directly to the chancellor. The current Provost is Christopher Clemens, Jaroslav Folda Distinguished Professor of Physics and Astronomy in the College of Arts & Sciences. Dr. Clemens previously served as the inaugural Associate Dean of Research and Innovation for the College of Natural Sciences and as the Director of the Institute for Convergent Science.
The provost leads the university in its academic planning and in the setting of academic values, policies, and practices. He is responsible for providing guidance to the dean of each school, is the chair of the Provost’s Leadership Council, and is accountable for regularly evaluating the deans, vice provosts, and selected vice chancellors, as well as candidates for those positions. The chancellor makes the final decision on senior administrative appointments in consultation with the provost.
The provost is the chair of the university’s Budget Committee and makes major resource allocation decisions relative to state funding and overhead funds. He prepares budget requests for academic and capital projects that are forwarded to the UNC System Office for review and approval. The provost provides oversight and assigns budgets to the dean of each school and to the directors of centers and institutes in the university.
The provost recommends and approves all promotions, retentions, special hires, tenure decisions, and new appointments to the faculty, and helps schools establish their own promotion and tenure policies.
The provost is responsible for fostering globalization initiatives in the university. The provost oversees the development of an information technology infrastructure for the university. The provost provides oversight to the conduct of research and scholarship, and works to stimulate a high level of scholarly productivity on the campus.
The provost provides leadership to the conduct of admissions and financial aid for students, and is responsible for oversight of the quality and practices associated with undergraduate, graduate, and professional study at the University. The provost oversees the administrative practices associated with enrollment, course offerings, tuition, and student fees, and the policies and values which guide these endeavors.