Radford University Announces New Provost

Sam Minner, a distinguished scholar with diverse and extensive experience in professional education and the allied health sciences, has been named provost and vice president for academic affairs at Radford University. Minner will begin his new duties on July 1, 2011.

“Dr. Minner brings a record of academic achievement, a deep understanding of the many different facets of university life, and a great sense of public service to this very important leadership position,” said Radford University President Penelope W. Kyle.  “We look forward to welcoming him to our university community.”

Minner is currently the founding dean of the School of Health Sciences and Education at Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri. He has also held faculty and administrative appointments at Northern Arizona University, Murray State University, and East Tennessee State University where he held the James H. Quillen Chair of Excellence in Teaching and Learning. In addition, Minner has worked abroad, most notably as one of the founding faculty members of the first institution of higher education in Belize, Central America. Minner's scholarly interests include critical theory applied to K-16 educational settings and higher education assessment.

"It is a great privilege for me to join the Radford community and work with the superlative faculty, staff, and administrative team to promote the university,” said Minner. “I am deeply honored to gain the trust of the faculty, President Kyle, and other administrative leaders at Radford, and my wife and I look forward to moving to the New River Valley area and making it our home.”

The provost and vice president for academic affairs is the chief academic officer of the university and reports to the university president. The provost works as a senior member of the president’s leadership team, chairs the Deans’ Council, and leads the faculty in their efforts to strengthen academic programs and foster a culture of academic excellence and community.

Kyle expressed great appreciation for the leadership that Joe Scartelli has provided during his tenure as interim provost.  Scartelli, who has served in that capacity since January 1, 2010, will return to his previous position of dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts. “Dr. Scartelli has done an exceptional job for the university he loves and we are so very grateful to him for stepping up to fill this important role while the search for a provost was conducted,” said Kyle.

Kyle also expressed gratitude to the members of the search committee for their dedicated work throughout the nine-month search process.  “The  members of the committee invested hundreds of hours in making sure that we identified and recruited the kind of person who can help Radford University truly excel and thrive as we begin our second century of providing educational opportunities to the Commonwealth,” said Kyle.

The search process for the new provost began in April 2010 with the formation of the Provost Search Committee. Members of the committee reviewed the materials of a high quality field of 65 candidates before narrowing the field to the final candidates.