Office of the Provost

The Office of the Provost is the domain of the administrator who ranks directly below the University President. The current provost is John Coatsworth.

The Provost is in charge of academic matters, and serves as the chief academic officer of the university. All matters relating to faculty hiring, retention, compensation, tenure are the responsibility of the Provost, as are curricular matters. The Provost's counterpart, who handles operational and administrative concerns of the university, is the Senior Executive Vice President, a post currently held by Robert Kasdin.

Offices reporting to the Provost

The Provost is one of the most overworked administrators at Columbia, with no less than 22 direct reports, split into roughly five divisions. Most management theorists believe the optimal number of direct reports is 6-8. This is why in past years, the Provostship has been split into three co-equal offices, separating Morningside arts & sciences, Morningside professional schools, and health sciences.

In this chart, direct reports are rendered as normal text. Delegated reports (included for the sake of clarity) are denoted in italics.

Morningside Academic Units

• Executive Vice President for Arts and Sciences and Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences
  • Dean of Columbia College
  • Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
  • Dean of the School of General Studies
  • Dean of the School of the Arts
  • Dean of the School of International and Public Affairs
  • Dean of the School of Continuing Education
• Dean of the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation
• Dean of Columbia Business School
• Dean of the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science
• Dean of the Graduate School of Journalism
• Dean of the School of Law
• Dean of the School of Social Work

Medical

• Executive Vice President for Health and Biomedical Services and Dean of the College of Physicians and Surgeons
  • Chief Operating Officer for the Columbia University Medical Center
  • Dean of the College of Dental Medicine
  • Dean of the School of Nursing
  • Dean of the Mailman School of Public Health

Academic Administration

• Senior Vice Provost for Academic Administration
  • Associate Provost for the International Students and Scholars Office
  • Associate Provost for Equal Opportunity & Affirmative Action
  • Assistant Provost for Academic Appointments

Pan-University Offices

• Vice President for Information Services and University Librarian
• Vice Provost for International Relations
• Vice Provost for Diversity Initiatives
• Associate Provost for the Office of Planning and Institutional Research
• Associate Provost for Work/Life
• University Chaplain / Associate Provost / Director of Earl Hall Center
• Emeritus Professors in Columbia [a small office which manages affairs relating to Emeritus Professors]

Affiliated Entities

• Associate Provost and Executive Director of Reid Hall, Paris
• Director of the Italian Academy for Advanced Studies in America
• Director of The Earth Institute at Columbia University
• Columbia University Press
• Head of The School at Columbia University

History

The provostship has a long but rather inconsistent history. The office was first created in 1811 and initially given to John Mitchell Mason. Mason was widely favored for the Presidency, following the office's vacancy that year. Unfortunately, he had the ill fortune to be a Presbyterian, and so he was de facto disqualified. The office went instead to William T. Harris, and Mason was given the newly-created position of Provost. In recognition of their relative importance and qualification, Mason received $3400 / year as Provost while Harris received $500 / year as President. When Mason stepped down in 1816, the office was abolished, not to be revived again until 1912, when William H. Carpenter became Provost under President Nicholas Murray Butler. When Carpenter stepped down in 1927, the office was only used as a means to administer summer sessions. Frank Fackenthal stepped into the office as it resumed its university-wide portfolio, serving from 1937 to 1946. The office was vacant for a year after his departure, but would be revived permanently in 1947.

From 1980 to 1983, the provostship was divided among three positions: a provost for the Arts and Sciences, a provost for the Morningside Professional Schools, and a provost for Health Sciences. Since then the provostship has been unified, and the offices of Vice President of Arts and Sciences and Executive Vice President of Health and Biomedical Services were created beneath it.

List of Provosts

• John Mitchell Mason (1811 - 1816), Provost
• Office abolished (1816 - 1912)
• William H. Carpenter (1912 - 1927), Provost
• Milton Del Manzo (1927 - 1937), Provost for Summer Sessions. Office otherwise vacant.
• Frank Diehl Fackenthal (1937 - 1946), Provost
• Office vacant (1946 - 1947)
• Albert C. Jacobs (1947 - 1949), Provost
• Grayson Kirk (1949 - 1953), Provost
• John A. Krout (1953 - 1958), Provost
• Jacques Barzun (1958 - 1967), Dean of Faculties and Provost
• David B. Truman (1967 - 1969), Vice President and Provost
• Paul D. Carter (1969 - 1969), Provost
• Polykarp Kusch (1969 - 1969), Vice President and Dean of Faculties
• Peter B. Kenen (1969 - 1970), Provost
• Polykarp Kusch (1969 - 1970), Vice President and Dean of Faculties
• Polykarp Kusch (1970 - 1971), Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost
• Wm. Theodore de Bary (1971 - 1978), Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost
• Norman N. Mintz (1978 - 1979), Acting Provost
• Michael I. Sovern (1979 - 1980), Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost
• Henrik H. Bendixen (1980 - 1981), Acting Provost (Health Sciences) and Acting Vice President for Health Sciences
• Peter Likins (1980 - 1981), Provost (Morningside Professional Schools)
• Fritz Stern (1980 - 1981), Provost (Arts and Sciences)
• Robert F. Goldberger (1981 - 1982), Provost (Health Sciences) and Vice President for Health Sciences
• Peter Likins (1981 - 1982), Provost (Morningside Professional Schools)
• Fritz Stern (1981 - 1982), Provost (Arts and Sciences)
• Robert F. Goldberger (1982 - 1983), Provost (Health Sciences and Morningside Professional Schools) and Vice President for Health Sciences
• Fritz Stern (1982 - 1983), Provost (Arts and Sciences)
• Robert F. Goldberger (1983 - 1989), Provost
• Fritz Stern (1989 - 1989), Acting Provost
• Jonathan R. Cole (1989 - 1994), Provost
• Jonathan R. Cole (1994 - 2003), Provost and Dean of Faculties
• Alan Brinkley (2003 - 2009), Provost
• Claude Steele (2009)-2011), Provost
• John Coatsworth (2011 - 2012 Interim, 2012-Present)