Two Universities Announce the Appointment of New Provosts

April Summitt is the new provost at La Sierra University in Riverside, California. Since 2016, she has served as dean of the university’s College of Arts & Sciences. Dr. Summitt first joined the La Sierra University community in 2013 as the university’s first dean of general education. She is the author of several books including Contested Waters: An Environmental History of the Colorado River (University Press of Colorado, 2103).

Dr. Summitt is a graduate of the Newbold College of Higher Education in England, where she majored in English and history. She earned a master’s degree in history from Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan, and a Ph.D. in history from Western Michigan University.

Susan M. Collins was named provost at the University of Michigan. She is the Edward M. Gramlich Collegiate Professor of Public Policy and a professor of economics at the university and had been serving as acting provost since March. From 2007 to 2017, Professor Collins served as dean of the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan. Earlier, Dr. Collins was on the economics faculty at Georgetown University and Harvard University. She was a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and is a past president of the Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs.

Professor Collins is a graduate of Harvard University and holds a Ph.D. in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.