Dr. Kent Neely, Provost
I am delighted to serve as Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at this exciting time in Western Oregon University’s distinguished history of teaching, research and service. We are exceptionally proud of our academic programs and our commitment to support teaching excellence within a personalized educational environment. We continue to enhance the diversity of the campus community and to distinguish Western’s exceptional collegiate environment with a dedication to a traditional liberal arts and sciences education. At the same time, we also recognize the need to address developing regional educational, cultural and economic needs and are particularly excited about our developing nursing curriculum, an increased academic presence in Salem and the new Masters of Information Systems degree program.
Western is part of the Oregon University System and is situated in the beautiful Willamette River Valley town of Monmouth, only 20 miles from Salem, the state capitol. The Western faculty and staff and the citizens of Monmouth are proud of the institution’s 150 year heritage of educating students and serving the region. Together, they provide a welcoming and supportive environment enabling students to excel. I invite you to explore the Western Web site and to use the links below to learn more about your future with Western Oregon University.
Kent Neely, Ph.D
Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
Institutional aspirations | Academic affairs | Units reporting to the Provost | Contact
The provost's role:
The university provost/vice president of academic affairs is the chief academic officer of the university and acts as the chief executive officer when the president is absent from campus. In addition to representing the campus on the OUS Provosts’ Council, the provost is also the chair of the university’s academic affairs council, the institutional assessment task force and serves as ex-officio member of several other governance bodies.
The provost’s office provides leadership and guidance needed to implement the university’s mission and strategic goals by supporting high-quality teaching, learning, and scholarship/creative activity and service as well as the assessment and improvement of the same. The office fosters a campus climate and culture that is conducive to intellectual inquiry, innovation, accountability and the highest standards of excellence. Working with senior officers of the university as well as faculty members and their governance units, the provost’s office provides leadership, oversight and general direction in, inter alia, the following general areas:
- Planning, coordination and implementation of academic affairs administrative units and related support functions to achieve the academic priorities and purposes of the University, including program planning, program reviews, accreditation and assessment
- Recruitment, appointment, retention and development of a quality faculty and academic affairs staff
- Management of a consolidated academic affairs budget and promoting overall efficiencies in resource allocation
- Building collaborative partnerships with internal and external constituencies in order to foster best practices in 21st century liberal education
- Building support for and facilitating campus-wide initiatives - e.g., diversity, interdisciplinarity and global engagement
- Academic Course Catalog (pdf)
Institutional aspirations for liberal learning in the 21st century: As developed by campus consensus and unanimously adopted by the Faculty Senate on October 11, 2005
- Enhance and assess educational quality in a culture of evidence
- Build a dynamic learning environment dedicated to student success
- Recruit, retain and support faculty and staff in a culture of excellence and innovation
- Manage and allocate institutional resources effectively
- Promote diversity, interdisciplinarity and global engagement
- Admissions - www.wou.edu/admissions/
- College of Education - www.wou.edu/education/
- College of Liberal Arts and Sciences - www.wou.edu/las/
- Teaching Research Institute - www.tr.wou.edu/
- Division of Extended Programs - www.wou.edu/provost/extprogram/
- Academic Advising and Learning Center - www.wou.edu/aalc/advising/
- Center for Teaching and Learning - www.wou.edu/provost/ctl/
- Graduate Office - www.wou.edu/provost/graduate/
- Honors Program - www.wou.edu/honors/
- Institutional Research & Sponsored Projects - www.wou.edu/provost/oirsp/
- International Students and Scholars Affairs - www.wou.edu/provost/international/
- Library and Media Services - www.wou.edu/provost/library/
- Registar’s Office - www.wou.edu/provost/registrar/
- Study Abroad and International Exchange - www.wou.edu/provost/studyabroad/
- Western Community Policing Center - www.westernrcpi.com/
- Writing Center - www.wou.edu/las/humanities/writingctr/