Two candidates were selected to move on to the next phase of the selection process for the position of associate provost for Academic Affairs and dean of the Division of Graduate Studies.

One candidate is Bill Ayres, who is a tenured political science professor and former vice provost of academic affairs at the University of Toledo. The other candidate is Manfred van Dulmen, who currently is the interim associate provost for academic affairs and interim dean of the Division of Graduate Studies at Kent State. 

Candidates are now moving to the open forum phase of the section process starting Thursday, March 18. These forums are meant to act as a space where “faculty, staff and students may join the virtual meeting and ask questions pertaining to the position,” said Melody Tankersley, senior vice president and provost, in an email sent to members of the university community.

Ayres’s key accomplishments in regard to the position include:

• Created first four-year CBE program at an Ohio public university

• Implementation of new systems for curriculum management & student course evaluations

• Designed and implemented system for creating agreements with community partners

• Negotiated partnerships with Say Yes to Education Cleveland and HOPE Toledo

• Built a regional partnership with BGSU and four regional community colleges

Ayres completed his Bachelor of Arts in political science with honors at William College and received his master’s and PhD in political science at the Ohio State University.

Since college, Ayres has been published in numerous books, journals, articles and editorials, according to his CV. He has also presented in several conferences pertaining to his field of study.

Ayres has served as an assistant, visiting, associate and associate tenured professor at the University of Indianapolis, Wright State University, Elizabethtown College, St. Mary’s College of Maryland and the University of Mississippi. 

He has also held positions such as the funding director of the International Relations program, director of the Center for Global Citizenship at Elizabethtown College and as assistant, interim and associate dean of the graduate program at Wright State University. 

Van Dulmen received his doctorate in psychology at Vrije Universiteit van Amsterdam in the Netherlands, and went on to get his PhD in family social science at the University of Minnesota. 

Van Dulmen’s most recent accomplishments in regard to the position include:

• Received funding for Council for Graduate Students and JED Foundation Graduate Student Mental Health

• Implemented study among first generation graduate students’ mental health and shared recommendations for students in the study of mental health at Kent State University and with the Council and JED Foundation; contributed to the national priority document

• Implemented graduate student survey and continued process of strategic planning for graduate studies

• Helped launch Giving Tuesday initiative focusing on access scholarships for underserved students 

After college, van Dulmen has held positions as a research associate at the University of Minnesota and as assistant and associate professor at Kent State University. 

Other positions he has also held at Kent State include the resource and development coordinator, graduate coordinator, associate chair and interim chair in the Department of Psychological Sciences, as well as the associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. 

During the open forum for each candidate they will be asked a series of questions created by the search committee, as well as questions from the floor. Links to the open forum can be found on the Office of the Provost’s website.

Kaitlyn Finchler covers administration and enrollment. Contact her at [email protected].