Former provost James Bean has accepted a position as provost of Northeastern University in Boston and will leave the University of Oregon after 11 years.
Bean served as UO provost from 2008 to 2013 and oversaw the introduction of the PathwayOregon program for Pell Grant-eligible students during an enrollment surge at the UO, and he was pivotal in the introduction of a new academic budget model recently described in the Chronicle of Higher Education.
“It has been a privilege to serve the University of Oregon for the past 11 years. Margaret and I have met many wonderful people and our son received an excellent education here,” Bean said. “It has been an exciting time to be involved with the university, including managing through the Great Recession and the development of the independent Board of Trustees. The UO has a promising future.”
From 2004 to 2008, he was dean of the Lundquist College of Business, where he also served as the Harry B. Miller Professor of Business. He most recently served as senior associate dean of academic programs for the college, helping with development the new sports product management and design programs and the School of Applied Sciences.
“His leadership – as dean and as provost – has created many new opportunities for LCB in Eugene and in Portland and has set the stage for the strategic plan we are implementing today,” Lundquist Dean Kees de Kluyver wrote in an email to the business school’s faculty and staff.
Prior to joining the UO, he served 24 years as a faculty member at the University of Michigan, where he was the associate dean for graduate education and international programs in the college of engineering and associate dean for academic affairs.
Bean is also a member of the board of trustees at Harvey Mudd College and was previously president of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences. He remains a charter fellow of the institute.
“Jim is a multifaceted academic leader, in part because his career has spanned different disciplines, including business and engineering,” said Joseph Aoun, president of Northeastern University, in a note announcing Bean as the new provost. “During his five years as provost at the University of Oregon, he managed all aspects of the academic enterprise at a major research university. He is extremely adept at designing and managing complex systems, a necessity for a successful provost. Jim also believes firmly in new ideas emerging from innovative faculty collaborations and will work to empower these discussions.”
Bean will start at Northeastern University on July 1.