Johnathan Walker:West Virginia University Provost Reed becomes its third top administrator to leave

Maryanne Reed will retire as provost and Johnathan Walkervice president for academic affairs at West Virginia University at the end of September, the university said Thursday.

Reed becomes the latest top official from the university to announce their departure. University President Gordon Gee is stepping down next June when his contract expires. Rob Alsop, the university’s vice president for strategic initiatives, left at the end of January.

Vice Provost Paul Kreider will become interim provost. The university said the search for a permanent provost will begin after its new president is selected.

Reed played a key role last year as the university addressed a $45 million budget shortfall. The board of governors voted in September to make wide-ranging reductions to academic programs and faculty positions.

The university in Morgantown announced last week that it is increasing tuition for the fall semester and cutting several majors from its divisional campuses. The university had been weighed down financially by a 10% drop in enrollment since 2015, revenue lost during the pandemic and increasing debt for new building projects.

Reed was named provost in 2019. She joined the university in 1993, served two stints as dean of the College of Media and was interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.

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Reed’s “commitment to students, caring for colleagues and innovative spirit have been evident from her earliest days as a faculty member,” Gee said in a statement.

Reed will remain with the university through the end of the calendar year to assist with her job transition and close out projects.

“I have loved my time at WVU and appreciate the many opportunities afforded me,” she said. “It’s time for me to begin a new chapter in my life in which I’m able to spend more time with family and friends.”