Academics are the most integral part of a university, so their provost is as well. But what is a provost?
“(Provost) is a leadership kind of term,” Oregon State University’s newly appointed Provost and Executive Vice President Roy Haggerty said. “It is the person responsible for the academic mission of the university.”
Provost Haggerty outlined that the academic mission encompassed overseeing courses, the student experience, faculty, supervising the deans of colleges, the library, research and many other responsibilities that contribute to student and faculty development.
“From the student perspective, my job is to do the best we can do at OSU and make sure that you have everything you need as a student to succeed in every aspect,” Haggerty said. “It’s a tremendous honor for me to lead the academic mission of Oregon State University.”
Although Haggerty was an outside hire for this position on technicality, he holds a 26 year history of employment at OSU. Haggerty left his position as dean of the College of Science in July 2022 to serve as provost and executive vice president at Louisiana State University.
During his time at OSU, Haggerty held many titles. He held positions such as associate vice president of research, interim dean for College of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, and geology program head in the College of Science.
While at LSU, Haggerty taught courses in geology and geophysics, as well as designed a class for student understanding of AI, alongside his provost duties.
Previous Interim Provost, now Senior Advisor for Special Projects, Belinda Batten said, “He has a strong knowledge of the university that will serve him well. And going to LSU, he got to see another whole kind of university with a different approach to things … and he’ll be able to bring that additional knowledge back to OSU and really do great things.”
Batten also shared that all senior leadership positions were involved in Haggerty’s hiring, as each had a chance to interview him for the role.
These interviews later turned into onboarding sessions for Haggerty to learn about the current objectives in each branch of the university and “so that he can understand what all their issues are,” Batten said.
Haggerty believes that his previous experiences at OSU, but also his time away from the university, will benefit him moving forward.
“Typically a provost, where they come from outside the university, needs quite a few months, I would say a year, before they start pushing major initiatives forward,” Haggerty said. “I think it’s easier for me to know what is a risk versus what’s a potential reward than for someone who is coming from outside.”
As a first-generation immigrant, Haggerty shared his appreciation for higher education.
“I was the first of my family to attend college. None of my five brothers attended college and my parents didn’t graduate from high school … there’s nothing I’ve ever wanted to do more than be at a university where knowledge is generated and propagated for the good of humanity,” Haggerty said.
Haggerty also expressed his love for libraries “as a place where you go to obtain the collective knowledge of humanity.” He holds especially fond memories of OSU’s Valley Library and the quotes engraved in brickwork outside the main entrance.
“There’s one (quote) in particular that I love. I learned it first (by) reading it here … ‘Heroes are not statues framed against a red sky. They are people who say: this is my community, and it’s my responsibility to make it better’,” Haggerty said. This quote is from former Oregon Governor Tom McCall. “It’s almost a principle by which I try to do my work and that is ‘What am I going to do today to try to make this place better for everyone?’”
In a full circle moment from origin to current day, Haggerty shared that he is from Provost, a small town in Alberta, Canada.
“I was born in the Provost hospital, and graduated from the Provost high school, and hope not to be buried in the Provost Cemetery.”
