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Provost finalists named, and interview schedules set

Interested parties are welcome to take part in the forums, which will start on Jan. 11

UND archival image.

A UND Search Committee has identified four finalists for the position of Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, the University has announced.

Each finalist will participate in 1½ days of interviews via Zoom between Jan. 11–20, 2021.

The finalists are:
• Eric Link
• Daniel Moon
• Susan Mumm
• Debbie Storrs

A brief candidate-provided bio for each can be found below. CVs are also posted on the Provost Search website. Each candidate will meet with several campus constituencies, and each will present a public forum during their visit.

Interested parties are welcome to participate in the forums to interact with the candidates during the interview process. Participants also are asked to complete the Qualtrics feedback survey for each candidate; the survey will be posted on the Provost Search website for 60 hours beginning at 8 a.m. on the first day of each candidate’s interview.

The finalists are:

Eric Link

Eric Link currently serves as provost and senior vice president for academic and student affairs at the University of Houston Downtown, a public, comprehensive institution of more than 15,000 students. In his role as provost, Link provides leadership for the academic affairs, student affairs, and enrollment management operations of the university, as well as the university library and the offices of institutional research, data analytics, assessment, and accreditation.

Prior to Houston, Link served as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Purdue University Fort Wayne, and before that he served as associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and chair of the Department of English at the University of Memphis. He also served as the head of the Department of Language and Literature at North Georgia College and State University, in addition to a variety of other administrative roles.

Link earned his Ph.D. in American literature from Purdue University. An award-winning teacher and scholar, he is widely published in his field, with ten authored or edited volumes and over fifty essays. He has twice served as a Fulbright Senior Scholar, most recently at the University of Fribourg in Switzerland (2012), and before that in Lutsk, Ukraine (2008).

Daniel Moon

Daniel Moon is currently the associate provost at the University of North Florida (UNF). In this role he oversees budget and personnel, digital learning and innovation, student affairs, and undergraduate studies. His previous leadership positions at UNF include associate vice president for academic affairs, interim dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, associate vice president and dean of Undergraduate Studies, and chair of Biology.

Moon received his Ph.D. in Biology and M.S. in Zoology from the University of South Florida, studying food web ecology, entomology, and environmental biology. He received a B.A. in Biology with honors from Binghamton University in New York.

Susan Mumm

Susan Mumm has most recently served as the twelfth principal of Brescia University College, Canada’s only women’s university.

She previously served as dean of Arts and Science at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, pro-vice chancellor at Massey University in New Zealand, and dean of Arts & Science at Mount St. Vincent University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Prior to that she held appointments as a historian at the Open University, England, and at York University.

Mumm holds a Ph.D. in History from the University of Sussex, and bachelor’s and master’s degrees in History from the University of Saskatchewan. She is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.

Debbie Storrs

Debbie Storrs currently serves as interim provost and vice president for academic affairs at the University of North Dakota, where she provides leadership support to academic deans of seven colleges/schools and the dean of libraries and information resources. She also supports leadership in the following academic affairs service units: assessment and accreditation, essential studies, honors, national scholarships and fellowships, online education and the Teaching Transformation & Development Academy, registrar, ROTC, strategic enrollment management, student academic success and career engagement, UND’s arts collection, analytics and planning and information technologies. Storrs also serves as the captain of goal 2 of UND’s strategic plan.

Storrs joined University of North Dakota in 2013 to serve as dean of the College of Arts & Sciences. After five years as dean, she transitioned to senior vice provost in the Office of Academic Affairs before her appointment as interim provost. Previously, Storrs was the associate dean of the College of Letters, Arts, & Social Sciences at the University of Idaho, where she achieved full professor.

A first-generation college student, Storrs earned a B.A. in sociology with a minor in psychology from the University of Alaska, and a M.S. and Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Oregon.