Senior Associate Provost Julie Sandell to become Provost at Suffolk University

From Dr. Jean Morrison, University Provost and Chief Academic Officer

I write to announce that Senior Associate Provost Julie Sandell has accepted an offer to become Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost at Suffolk University and will be leaving Boston University at the end of June. I know that I speak for all members of our academic community and leadership team in acknowledging Julie’s innumerable contributions to the University during her nearly three decades of service here, both as a faculty member and a leader on faculty issues. Julie has been a vital part of my leadership team since my arrival at BU, and her departure, while a loss for our community, is a great leadership opportunity for her.

A Professor of Anatomy and Neurobiology in the School of Medicine, Julie has been a member of the BU faculty since 1991. In 2009, she was appointed Associate Provost for Faculty Development, and the role was expanded in 2011 to encompass all of Faculty Affairs. Last year, she was promoted to Senior Associate Provost, a designation that reflected her years of outstanding service and the addition of new responsibilities to her portfolio, including oversight of the University-wide sexual misconduct training, dean searches, and periodic dean’s reviews.
 
In her role as Associate Provost over the last 10 years, Julie has been the senior officer reporting to the Provost with responsibility for matters involving faculty, overseeing faculty recruitment, appointment, and compensation. She has overseen the promotion and tenure processes for the Charles River Campus and the University’s Equal Opportunity Office, and has worked closely with me on faculty policies, including those that support BU’s commitment to faculty diversity, professional development, and work-life balance.

Julie’s stamp on Boston University is extensive. Prior to her service as Associate Provost, she was a decorated member of faculty in the School of Medicine, having served as Chair of Faculty Council and received the Stanley L. Robbins Award for Excellence in Teaching, the medical school’s highest teaching honor. As a member of leadership, she remained a vocal advocate for faculty. She shepherded to fruition new tenure and promotion, sabbatical, and personal and family leave policies that have provided greater flexibility and clearer paths to advancement for faculty members and oversaw the redrafting of the University Council’s constitution to enable greater faculty participation in the University’s governance. To all of these efforts, Julie has brought exceptional insight and judgment, as well as encyclopedic knowledge of policies and processes at the University level.

Please join me and President Brown in thanking Julie for her many important contributions to Boston University over the last 28 years and offering her our heartfelt congratulations as she moves forward into her new leadership position.

Over the next three weeks, I will consult broadly within the University to identify a new Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs. The Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs is responsible for overseeing faculty recruitment, appointment, and compensation, the promotion and tenure process for the Charles River Campus, plays a leadership role on faculty policies, and serves as a member of the Provost’s Cabinet. If you would like to nominate an individual to be considered for this position or would like to be considered yourself, please send a nomination or expression of interest via email to me at provost@bu.edu.  Alternatively, please send nominations or letters of interest in writing to me at the Office of the Provost. Please mark the envelope ‘Confidential’ if you would like your correspondence to be held in confidence. I expect to identify and name a successor before the end of the academic year.

Senior Associate Provost Julie Sandell to become Provost at Suffolk University – 4.16.19