UA selects official from Northern Arizona University as next provost

The University of Arkansas announced Monday (Nov. 7) the hiring of James Scott “Jim” Coleman as executive vice chancellor for academic affairs and provost at the UA in Fayetteville.

The appointment is effective Jan. 1, according to a UA news release. Coleman is provost and vice president for academic affairs and a biology professor at Northern Arizona University.

He succeeds Ashok Saxena, has held the post on an interim basis since August 2015, when he was appointed by interim Chancellor Dan Ferritor to fill the role for approximately 18 months. The UA had been seeking a permanent replacement since the end of the 2014-15 academic year when Sharon Gaber left to become president of the University of Toledo.

In addition to serving as the chief academic officer for the state’s flagship university, Coleman will hold a faculty appointment as professor of biological sciences in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, pending approval of the university’s board of trustees.

“We are looking forward to welcoming a seasoned administrator to help us enter the new year, and implement the campus planning work we’ve spent the past year actively engaged in,” UA Chancellor Joseph E. Steinmetz said in the release. “I would be remiss if I didn’t thank Professor Peter Ungar, chair of the search committee, and each member of that committee for their steadfast efforts that led to Jim’s appointment. I have a great deal of confidence in their work.

“Also, I’d like to thank Ashok Saxena for dutifully and effectively serving as provost and providing me with so much support during my first year on the job,” he said.

Coleman said he is “thrilled about this opportunity to lead academic affairs at the University of Arkansas.”

“I look forward to engaging with all areas of campus and doing a deep dive into the culture to better understand the strengths that have led to the creation of the eight campus priorities,” he said. “Ultimately, this work will lead to some signature initiatives for implementation and I’m pleased to be a part of it.”

Coleman has been provost and vice president for academic affairs and professor of biology at NAU since August 2015. He previously served as the dean of the College of Humanities and Sciences at Virginia Commonwealth University, where he also was a biology professor.

He has also held positions at Rice University, University of Missouri, the Desert Research Institute and Syracuse University.

Coleman holds advanced degrees, including a doctorate, from Yale University, working in plant ecology. He received a bachelor’s degree in forestry from the University of Maine. He also conducted postdoctoral research at Stanford and Harvard universities.