The search to find a new Provost for the University of Northern Iowa has ended.

In an email sent out to the UNI community, UNI’s President Bill Ruud announced Jim Wohlpart has been named as provost and executive vice president for academic affairs. 

Wohlpart will assume the position May 31, pending approval from the Iowa Board of Regents, as he will continue working at Florida Gulf Coast University as Dean of Undergraduate Students and an English professor.

As Provost, Wohlpart will be expected to promote community enagement, advance UNI’s commitment to diversity, provide a vision for maintaning academic excellence and, among other duties, oversee all of the academic components of UNI.

Wohlpart is replacing Mike Licari, who has served as Interim Provost since July 2014, after Gloria Gibson announced her resignation as provost in April 2014.

Licari has been named provost at Indiana State University.

During the open forum for the candidate process, Wohlpart said, if chosen, he would incorporate the importance of applied learning through internships and integrative learning.

“I want to talk about a very pressing issue in higher education, and that’s what I call ‘the vocationalization of higher education,’” Wohlpart said.

A follow-up story will be published in a near-future issue of the Northern Iowan.