Associate Provost for Strategic Initiatives and Chief of Staff Nicole Hawkes to leave Boston University
From Dr. Jean Morrison, University Provost and Chief Academic Officer
I am writing to announce that Nicole Hawkes, Associate Provost for Strategic Initiatives and Chief of Staff in the Office of the Provost, has accepted an offer to become Chief of Staff to the President at the California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, one of 23 campuses of the California State University System. Nicole’s last day at Boston University will be July 13, 2018.
Since her appointment at BU in 2011, Nicole has led many important strategic efforts in the Office of the Provost. She established and led the University’s internal Academic Program Review process, resulting in the assessment of 45 academic degree-granting programs to date, with the first full cycle of 55 reviews scheduled to be complete at the conclusion of the 2018-2019 academic year. She has managed our interactions with the Academic Affairs Committee and Student Affairs Committee of the Board of Trustees as well as the Board of Overseers. Nicole has provided support to 11 Dean Search Committees and conducted 13 Dean’s Fifth-Year Performance Reviews. Nicole was instrumental in establishing the BU Arts Initiative in 2012, and chaired a committee charged with envisioning the future of the Boston University Tanglewood Institute (BUTI) in 2013. Over the past seven and a half years, she has worked closely with me on a range of initiatives aimed at enhancing the quality of academic programs and the academic reputation of Boston University. In every interaction, Nicole has performed with exceptional professionalism and grace.
As my Chief of Staff since 2015, Nicole has coordinated communications and activities involving all Provost Office constituencies. She has overseen all day-to-day administrative support operations of the Office of the Provost, including management and direction of the Provost’s executive support team. She has been an influential member of my senior leadership team, providing important insight into complex situations, creative solutions for difficult problems, and strategic thinking for developing initiatives.
Prior to joining Boston University, Nicole served as Associate Provost for Academic Affairs at the University of Southern California and as Senior Program Associate in the MacArthur Fellows Program of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
Nicole received her BA in History from Mount Holyoke College in 1996; her MA in African Studies from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign in 2000; and her MS in Arts Administration from Boston University in 2002.
Please join me in congratulating Nicole on her new role and in wishing her well.