Gonzaga Names Lizbeth Martin Interim Provost & Senior VP
Gonzaga News Service
SPOKANE, Wash. — Lizbeth “Beth” J. Martin, Ph.D., former provost and vice president for academic affairs at Holy Names University in Oakland, California, has been named interim provost and senior vice president at Gonzaga University for the 2018-19 academic year.
Gonzaga President Thayne McCulloh said the hiring of Martin will facilitate Gonzaga’s transition to a provost structure, a change motivated by the desire to provide a more fully integrated student experience. The provost position will have responsibility for bringing together the academic and student development divisions, thereby creating new opportunities for collaboration and program design.
The University will search for a permanent provost during the 2018-19 year, with the intent of having that individual on board by midsummer 2019. During the interim, Martin will serve as the University’s chief academic officer, partnering with the president and other senior administrators to provide leadership to the institution.
“In asking Dr. Martin to join our community, we are engaging with a thoughtful, seasoned administrator in the work of creating an effective provost structure at Gonzaga,” McCulloh said. “Additionally, we seek her support and insights to find worthy successors for three current deanships in the Schools of Engineering and Applied Science, Nursing and Human Physiology, and Leadership Studies.”
“Gonzaga University’s mission and dedication to the development of the whole person drew me to this position,” Martin said. “This next year will be one of broad collaboration as Gonzaga moves to incorporate an administrative structure intended to serve the needs of the complex and enterprising university Gonzaga has become. I am delighted to be on board for this transformative year.”
Martin earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Brown University and both a master’s degree and doctorate in physiological and developmental psychology from Stanford University. Following extensive applied research, teaching and consulting experiences in a variety of universities, colleges and institutes, Martin in 2001 was named founding dean of the School of Sciences at Notre Dame de Namur University in Belmont, California.
Since 2006 she has served as the chief academic officer at Holy Names University — first as vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty, and then as provost. Martin has extensive experience with budget, curriculum and program development, regional accreditation, externally funded research, enrollment management, fundraising, and marketing.
In making the announcement, President McCulloh also thanked Elisabeth Mermann-Jozwiak, Ph.D, for her exceptional service as interim academic vice president in the 2017-18 academic year.
“Dr. Mermann-Jozwiak has worked hard and very effectively at keeping the work of the academic vice president’s office moving smoothly forward. She is an extraordinarily dedicated colleague, deeply committed to the actualization of our University mission, and I am very grateful for her willingness to help us this year and in the transitional period to come,” President McCulloh said.
Mermann-Jozwiak reassumed her role as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences on July 16.
For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact Peter Tormey at (509) 313-6132 or via email.