Provost Search
The University of Toledo partnered with WittKieffer to conduct a search for Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs.
Finalists for the position were invited to visit campus in April 2025 to meet with faculty, staff and students. Open forums provided an opportunity to hear a presentation from the candidate and engage in discussion. The forums were held in person in Room 1200A of the Savage & Associates Business Complex and included a virtual attendance option.
UToledo Provost Leadership Profile
Dr. Robert D. Morgan
Dean of the College of Health and Human Services at Southern Illinois University
Monday, April 14, 2025
Robert “Bob” Morgan joined Southern Illinois University in 2021 as the inaugural dean of the College of Health and Human Sciences and professor in the School of Psychological and Behavioral Sciences. He also served as co-acting provost in 2023.
Morgan had previously served 21 years at Texas Tech University where he was the John G. Skelton, Jr. Regents Endowed Professor in Psychology, chair of the Department of Psychological Sciences and director of the Institute for Forensic Science.
His research and scholarly activities include treatment and assessment of justice involved persons with mental illness, effects of incarceration including in restricted housing units, forensic mental health assessment, and training and education in psychology.
Morgan has authored or co-authored more than 110 peer reviewed articles and book chapters, and authored or edited six books including, “A Treatment Program for Justice Involved Persons with Mental Illness: Changing Lives and Changing Outcomes” and “A Clinician’s Guide to Violence Risk Assessment.” He has more than 25 years of experience in correctional and forensic psychology, and consults with state and private correctional agencies to inform practice.
Morgan completed his Ph.D. in counseling psychology at Oklahoma State University and a postdoctoral fellowship in forensic psychology at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and the Missouri Department of Mental Health.
Dr. Kenneth J. Petersen
Senior Associate Dean for Faculty and Research Innovation in the Michael F. Price College of Business at the University of Oklahoma
Tuesday, April 15, 2025
Kenneth “Ken” Petersen joined the University of Oklahoma in 2018 as the Helen Robson Walton Endowed Chair in Marketing Strategy and professor of marketing and supply chain management in the Michael F. Price College of Business. He has served as the senior associate dean for faculty and research innovation since 2024.
Petersen’s career began as a supply corps officer in the U.S. Navy, where he served for 17 years, attaining the rank of Lieutenant Commander. Leveraging his military experience and academic background, he transitioned into academia with faculty and leadership roles at the University of Oregon, Arizona State University, Colorado State University, University of Tennessee and Boise State University.
His research and scholarly activities across supply chain management, marketing strategy and business administration include publications and more than 15,000 citations on topics such as global supply chain design, sustainability and organizational alignmen. He is co-author of the book “Global Supply Chains: Evaluating Regions on an EPIC Framework – Economy, Politics, Infrastructure, and Competence.”
Petersen completed his Ph.D. in operations and sourcing management at Michigan State University. He has an M.B.A. from the University of Akron and a bachelor’s degree in finance and economics from the University of Alabama.
Dr. Xiaoqing Liu
Dean of the College of Engineering at Southern Illinois University
Wednesday, April 16, 2025
Xiaoqing “Frank” Liu joined the Southern Illinois University in 2020 where he serves as dean of the College of Engineering, Computing, Technology and Mathematics and professor in the School of Computing and the School of Electrical, Computer and Biomedical Engineering.
Liu had previously served for five years as head of the Computer Science and Computer Engineering Department and Rodger S. Kline Endowed Leadership Chair at the University of Arkansas. He also was a computer science professor at Missouri University of Science and Technology where he also served as interim chair of the department and graduate coordinator.
His research and scholarly activities include computer science and applied artificial intelligence. He has published extensively and participated in numerous externally funded research and education projects in the areas of software engineering, service computing, data analytics-based recommendation systems, cyber argumentation based social media/networking, applied artificial intelligence, cyber physical systems and advanced computing applications.
Liu completed his Ph.D. in computer science from Texas A&M University. He has a master’s degree in computer science from Nanjing Institute of Technology (now Southeast University) and bachelor’s degree in computer science from Changsha Institute of Technology (now National University of Defense Technology) in China.
Dr. Mitchell McKinney
Dean of the Buchtel College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Akron
Thursday, April 17, 2025
Mitchell McKinney joined the University of Akron in 2021 as the dean of the Buchtel College of Arts and Sciences, which is the university’s largest college with 24 schools and departments and 10 academic centers and institutes.
McKinney had previously served 21 years at the University of Missouri as a professor with joint appointment in the Department of Communication and School of Journalism and held several academic leadership positions, including Director of Graduate Studies, chair of the Department of Communication and acting deputy provost. He also served on the faculty at University of Oklahoma, Johnson County Community College and Missouri Southern State University.
His research and scholarly activities in political communications include author or co-author of ten books and more than 100 journal articles and book chapters. He is a recognized scholar of presidential debates and served as an advisor to the U.S. Commission on Presidential Debates and on national election commissions in several countries.
McKinney completed his Ph.D. in communication studies from the University of Kansas. He has a master’s degree in communication studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and bachelor’s degrees in speech communication and government from Western Kentucky University.
Search Committee
Bryan Blair (co-chair)
Vice President Intercollegiate Athletics and Director of Athletics
Jerry Van Hoy (co-chair)
Faculty Senate President
Associate Professor of Sociology; Co-Director, Program in Law & Social Thought; Director,
Master of Liberal Studies Program
Terence Romer
Chief of Strategy and Business Insights
Kimberly Nigem
Professor, John B. and Lillian Neff College of Business and Innovation
Joan Duggan
Professor, College of Medicine and Life Sciences
Rafael Garcia-Mata
Professor, College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics
Dan Boden
Associate Professor, College of Arts and Letters
Ashley Westgate
Student Body Vice President
Addison Kittle
Graduate Student Association President