John Coatsworth Named Interim University Provost
June 29, 2011
Dear Colleagues:
I am pleased to announce that John Coatsworth will assume the responsibilities
of University Provost on an interim basis effective July 1. Claude Steele
will graciously help with the transition, until he leaves in August to take up
his new position as Dean of the School
of Education at
Stanford. John has been an exceptional Dean of the School of International
and Public Affairs and will continue in that post. His wide experience at
Columbia and
elsewhere makes him ideally suited to help with the array of academic and
budgetary issues lodged in the Provost's office.
As many of you know, John is a highly respected expert on Latin American international
and economic history. He first came to Columbia in 2006. He previously taught
at the University
of Chicago from 1969
until 1992, when he joined the Harvard faculty as Monroe Gutman Professor of
Latin American Affairs. There he became the founding director of the David Rockefeller
Center for Latin American
Studies. His other academic posts have included visiting professorships
in Argentina, Mexico, and Spain. He is a former
president of the American Historical Association and of the Latin American
Studies Association, and a member of the American Academy
of Arts and Sciences and the Council on Foreign Relations.
John will continue serving as Dean of SIPA, relying on the wonderful group of
faculty and staff he has assembled there to continue leading the School.
Soon I will appoint a small advisory group to assist me in the search for the
next Provost of the University. Once again, I want to thank Claude Steele
for his many contributions and for his friendship with all of us at Columbia.
Sincerely,
Lee C. Bollinger
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