Three Women in Higher Education Appointed to Provost Positions

Anne Alexander will serve as interim provost and vice president for academic affairs at the University of Wyoming, beginning on July 1. Dr. Alexander, a professor in the College of Business, has been the university’s associate vice president for undergraduate education since 2015. Before that, she was the director of international programs for eight years.

Professor Alexander holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from New Mexico State University. She earned a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Wyoming.

Saundra F. DeLauder was named provost and vice president of academic affairs at Delaware State University in Dover. Dr. DeLauder is the sixth permanent provost since the university created the executive academic leadership position in the late 1990s. She is the first woman to hold the post. Dr. DeLander has been interim provost since the beginning of 2020 and was the vice provost from August 2017 through 2019. She was the dean of the School of Graduate Studies and Research from 2013 to 2017. Earlier in her career, Dr. DeLander served on the chemistry department faculty at Morgan State University in Baltimore and North Carolina Central University in Durham.

A native of Greensboro, North Carolina, Dr. DeLauder earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry with a minor in mathematics from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She holds a master’s degree in physical chemistry from North Carolina A&T State University and a Ph.D. from Howard University in Washington, D.C.

Thomas More University in Crestview Hills, Kentucky, announced the hiring of its first provost, Molly Smith. She will also serve as a professor of English. Since August 2019, Dr. Smith has been provost at Stonehill College in Easton, Massachusetts.

A native of India, Professor Smith earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Ethiraj College for Women and a master’s degree in English from Madras Christian College of the University of Madras. She earned a doctorate at Auburn University in Alabama.