Dr. Jeffrey Lewis to continue as Interim Provost until June 2023

In April 2020, President Cordano announced the selection of Dr. Jeffrey W. Lewis, ’76, as Interim Provost. Dr. Lewis has served in this role since then. At the time, he agreed to serve for up to two years in order to fully implement the Academic Affairs restructuring and continue our work on The Gallaudet Promise, our long-term strategic vision. 

Since then, Dr. Lewis has performed admirably in academic leadership, faculty and student success, strategic communications, and crisis management while we navigated the COVID-19 pandemic. President Cordano recognized and appreciated Dr. Lewis for his remarkable leadership, skillful diplomacy, and “can-do” attitude in managing to keep the heart of the university — our students — at the forefront while we learned and worked in the cloud. Dr. Lewis is also a staunch champion of all our faculty and staff, and of their roles in moving Gallaudet University forward. 

This year, as we transitioned back to campus, we have done so with a mindful balancing of the many changes that occurred before and during the pandemic, including the Academic Affairs restructuring, and with the stability of our leadership as we continue many important priorities including The Gallaudet Promise, the MSCHE Self-Study, and our commitment to equity and belonging.

President Cordano is pleased to announce that Dr. Lewis has agreed to continue to serve as Interim Provost until June 20, 2023. Having Dr. Lewis continue in this role is especially important during this time of transition and as we look ahead to commencing the national search for our next Provost in the fall of 2022. 

Dr. William Ennis, Chair of the Faculty Senate, led a discussion within faculty leadership regarding the national search. In recognizing the need for strong and stable leadership during the search, our faculty leadership was unanimous in their enthusiastic support of Dr. Lewis. They shared that Dr. Lewis does not shy away from making difficult decisions. They also admire his ability to provide open space for dialogue in the true spirit of shared governance. I thank Dr. Ennis, our faculty leadership, and other members of our community for their strong endorsement, making this decision an easy one. 

Thank you, Dr. Lewis, for your continued stewardship!

Read more from the President’s announcement here.