University of Montana’s first woman provost is chancellor finalist

Submitted by Carla Browning
Phone: (907) 474--7778
04/23/04

The third finalist for the position of chancellor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks is Lois Muir, the first woman provost and vice president for academic affairs at the University of Montana. The four-campus University of Montana system has an enrollment of approximately 17,000 students. Muir is responsible for coordinating academic programs across all UM campuses, which include the doctoral research institution in Missoula, as well as Montana Tech, which specializes in engineering and mining; the University of Montana-Western, a liberal arts college; and Helena College of Technology, a two-year vocational technical campus.

Muir will visit UAF May 3-4 to for a series of campus interviews and open meetings. Open forums to meet Muir will take place Monday, May 3 at the Tanana Valley Campus Center on Barnette Street from 3:30-5 p.m. followed by a community reception there from 5-6:30 p.m. Other open forums will take place Tuesday, May 4 in the Geophysical Institute Globe Room on the UAF campus from 10:15-11:45 a.m. and in the Wood Center Carol Brown Ballroom from 1:30-2:45 p.m.

Prior to her current position, Muir was associate provost at Kent State University from 1996 to 2000. Before that she served as dean of graduate studies; dean of arts, humanities and social sciences; and psychology professor at Kennesaw State University in Georgia. Muir has held other administrative positions at the University of Wisconsin in La Crosse and the University of South Dakota. Before moving into administration, she served on the psychology faculty at Indiana University, Rutgers University and the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.

She has taught and published in the areas of developmental psychology and psychology of women. Changes in maternal attitudes and perceptions over time continue to be a research focus. As a professor at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, she was recognized for her outstanding teaching by being selected for the "Last Lecture Series" in 1986 and the Outstanding Teacher Award in 1992.

Muir received her Ph.D. in psychology from the State University of New York at Stony Brook in 1982, a master’s in family and child development from Auburn University in 1978 and a bachelor’s in psychology from the University of Texas in 1974.

As an undergraduate, she majored in psychology with a minor in computer science. Throughout her graduate training, she specialized in developmental psychology.

In 1986, Muir was a visiting associate professor for Indiana University’s program in Shah Alam, Malaysia and has demonstrated a commitment to the education of Native Americans, having assisted in establishing a tribal college in South Dakota.

The first chancellor candidate to interview at UAF was Stephen G. Wells, president of the Desert Research Institute in Nevada. UAF’s second chancellor candidate finalist is Dr. Jay Noren, the executive vice president, provost and dean of the graduate college at the University of Nebraska. The name and visit schedule of the fourth and final candidate for UAF chancellor will be released April 30.

For information on the chancellor search process, including search committee meeting minutes, a list of chancellor search committee members, dates of open forums, copies of the candidates’ full vitas and an online comment form, visit the chancellor search website at http://www.uaf.edu/chancellor/search/.

CONTACT: UAF Public Information Officer Carla Browning at (907) 474-7778 or visit the chancellor search website at http://www.uaf.edu/chancellor/search/ for more information.

DPD//CJB/4-23-04/068-04