August 13, 2020

Dear Colleagues,

I am excited to announce that I have selected Clark Honors College Dean Gabe Paquette to be the next vice provost for academic affairs.

Gabe joins the Office of the Provost team where he will help us in strengthening the academic mission of the University of Oregon. Specifically, Gabe will focus his efforts on ensuring the academic success of UO faculty. This includes overseeing personnel actions such as tenure, promotion, faculty performance reviews, post-tenure review, development plans, and sabbaticals, as well as the training and development of faculty members across their careers. He will report directly to Executive Vice Provost Janet Woodruff-Borden.

Selected in a national search in 2018, Gabe joined the UO as dean of the Clark Honors College and immediately set to work. In his Honors College role, he was responsible for all academic, budgetary, operational, and philanthropic activities. Gabe also oversaw a comprehensive reform of the college’s interdisciplinary curriculum that will begin in Fall 2020.

During his tenure at CHC, Gabe increased the size of the entering first-year cohort by 25 percent. He also designed and led a unit-wide strategic planning process for the college. And he was instrumental in bringing the renowned “Calderwood Seminars in Public Writing” to the UO through a foundation grant, making the institution one of three public universities to host the prestigious seminar program.

In Gabe, we have an exceptionally capable person who has a clear and polished track record of digging into the work to find creative solutions. He is accustomed to working closely with faculty in a way that harnesses excellent teaching and connects to positive outcomes when it comes to student experience. He spent seven years at The Johns Hopkins University as a professor of history. He also served in the provost’s office, helping to convene and guide a 30-person Commission on Undergraduate Education. He was director for the Latin American Studies program. He previously held positions at Harvard, the University of Cambridge’s Trinity College, and Wesleyan University.

Gabe will start his new assignment as vice provost for academic affairs on Sept. 1. I look forward to having him in the Office of the Provost and to all he will do to help our faculty thrive.

I will spend the next few weeks working with my leadership team and meeting with faculty in the honors college, and academic and senate leadership to gather input before selecting an interim dean.

Finally, I’d like to thank the 10-member search committee, led by Chair Jane Gordon, vice provost for UO Portland. The committee included members of the faculty, staff, academic leadership, and the University Senate.

Please join me in congratulating Gabe, and I hope you and your families are healthy and safe.

Patrick Phillips
Provost and Senior Vice President