Office of the Provost

meet Dr. W. Richard Stephens, Jr.

Catawba College's new provost, Dr. W. Richard Stephens, Jr. is an advocate for always having a Plan B. In fact, he credits a series of Plan Bs for helping shape his career in academe.

"Life often demands that you take a step back, two steps to the right or left and then go forward again," he explains. Rick Stephens has heeded life's demands.

This tall, athletic man who calls the southern Illinois area 'home' made a late declaration of a major when he was an undergraduate at Greenville College. "Sociology was suggested to me by one of my professors. I had taken several classes in the department and found them interesting."

His undergraduate magna cum laude degree in sociology, he thought, would serve him well in law school. That was his plan, though he had a Plan B. He had applied to graduate school at the University of Kansas.

FULL STORY »

Excerpt from Dr. Stephen's Convocation Address, "Rick's Promise"
(Opening Convocation, Spring 2009)

AREAS REPORTING TO THE PROVOST:

• Academic Affairs (all academic departments)
• Student Affairs
  
• Registrar
• Library Services
  
• School of Evening & Graduate Studies

CONTACT INFO:

Office of the Provost
Phone: (704) 637-4466 or (704) 637-4428                                        

Dr. W. Richard (Rick) Stephens, Jr., Provost
B.A., Greenville College; M.A., M.Phil., Ph.D., University of Kansas
E-mail: rstephens@catawba.edu

Dr. Carl A. Girelli, Associate Provost
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., University of Connecticut
E-mail: cgirelli@catawba.edu

Joanna L. Jasper, Chief Information Officer and Associate Provost
B.S., Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
E-mail: jljasper@catawba.edu

Kimberly A. Smith, Coordinator of Academic Affairs & Assistant to the Provost
B.S., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
E-mail: kasmith@catawba.edu

Ann Loudin-Clifton, Administrative Assistant for Academic Affairs
E-mail: saloudin@catawba.edu