Jack Herring Hired as Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education at Western

Jack Herring has been hired as vice provost for Undergraduate Education at Western, Provost Brent Carbajal announced today.

Herring, hired following an internal search, will start in his new role at Western on Aug. 12. He succeeds Steve VanderStaay, who will transition back to serve as a faculty member in Western’s English Department.

“I'm very pleased that Dr. Jack Herring will be serving Western as vice provost for Undergraduate Education. His administrative experience, knowledge of accreditation and assessment, and commitment to inclusive student success position him very well for this role,” Carbajal said. “I look forward to collaborating with Dr. Herring and other leaders on campus as we support and enhance our strong undergraduate education and experience during these challenging times.”

Carbajal thanked VanderStaay for his service to the University as vice provost for Undergraduate Education.

“I also want to take this opportunity to express appreciation to Dr. Steve VanderStaay. Simply put, Dr. VanderStaay's work as VPUE has been instrumental in not only supporting undergraduate student success at Western, but also in promoting and documenting it in important ways,” Carbajal said. “I very much value having had the opportunity to work closely with Dr. VanderStaay and wish him all the best as he returns to the teaching he loves.”

Herring will transition from dean of Fairhaven College to his new role in the Provost’s office. Herring became the Dean of Fairhaven College in 2013, having previously served for five years as the dean of the Resident Undergraduate Program at Prescott College in Arizona. Prior to that he taught in Environmental Studies at Prescott College in topics ranging from environmental chemistry, weather and climate to environmental policy and management.

“This is a position that I’ve been interested in since I arrived at WWU almost seven years ago, in no small part because of how impressed I was by the work of Steve VanderStaay in supporting our collective commitment to undergraduate education,” Herring said. “I look forward to filling those very large shoes and working with all of the many stakeholders who make our curriculum what it is, while also striving to meet the emerging challenges and imperatives posed to us as an institution today.”

The vice provost for Undergraduate Education serves as the Provost’s chief assistant on all matters related to undergraduate education at Western. The vice provost supervises the director of First-Year Programs, the Fellowships Office, and efforts in Academic Affairs related to community engagement. The vice provost is the Provost’s representative to curriculum-related committees of the Faculty Senate and works in other curriculum-related areas; serves as director of assessment activities in Academic Affairs, including the assessment of student learning outcomes; works closely with the Office of Institutional Effectiveness and the Accreditation Liaison Officer on University-level assessment activities; and works to improve the transfer experience at Western.