Dear Colleague:

I am writing to inform you that Steve Fisher has told me that he will step down as Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education at the end of this academic year. I have accepted Steve’s decision with regret over the loss of a valued colleague in my office and with gratitude for his many contributions to the University during the nine years he will have served in this important position.

Steve is the first person to hold the position of Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education and he has shaped the post in ways which will have lasting impact. The creation of this administrative position was recommended in the 1988 Report of the Task Force on Undergraduate Education. Shortly after I became Provost in 1996, I initiated a national search to fill it. As is often the case, we found the best possible candidate here at Northwestern. The confidence placed in him by President Bienen and myself was clearly merited. As Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education since 1997, Steve has been an effective advocate for undergraduates and has wisely overseen and deftly coordinated a significant investment of university resources to enrich academic programs and services for them.

When Steve took office, the University provided a modest array of study abroad opportunities. With the establishment of a professionally staffed Office of Study Abroad, the number of Northwestern undergraduates who study overseas for a quarter or longer has grown from fewer than 100 to over 600 and the number of affiliated programs has grown from 11, most in western Europe, to over 90 throughout the world. Moreover, students from all six undergraduate Schools now have opportunities for study abroad that enhance their on-campus programs of study.

The establishment of an Office of Fellowships likewise provided expert professional support to Northwestern students applying for external awards. Northwestern undergraduates now compete successfully for an enormous range of national and international scholarships and fellowships. Thanks in equal measure to the abilities of our students and the support provided by that new office, Northwestern basks in the reflected glory of a regular succession of winners of such prestigious awards as Marshall , Luce, Rhodes , Truman, Beinecke, Goldwater, NSF, and Fulbright fellowships.

Encouragement of undergraduate research has also been a priority for Steve. Thanks in part to his advocacy, funds available to support undergraduate research have grown steadily, so that now a university-wide faculty committee each year distributes over $200,000 dollars in university funds to more than 150 undergraduates to support academic year or summer research. To celebrate the research accomplishments of our students, Steve initiated Northwestern’s Undergraduate Research Symposium, at which students present the results of their research to the university community.

Steve’s long-term interest in improving academic advising led him to create the University Academic Advising Center that provides students with assistance in matters that are not school-specific, such as inter-school transfers and preparation for medical, dental, and other health science careers. Steve was also a key participant in the decision-making process that led to the allocation of substantial additional resources to support school-based advising initiatives. The effect of these initiatives is evident in the increased satisfaction in academic advising expressed by our graduating seniors.

Steve has long been an advocate of the importance of good teaching. As Associate Provost, Steve strongly supported the work of the Searle Center for Teaching Excellence, including its numerous programs for faculty and graduate students on human learning and effective teaching. During his tenure, the Center established its highly successful Junior Fellows program, which seeks to make clear to new faculty from both campuses the centrality of the teaching mission of the University. The work of the Center grew considerably in recent years, so that it now participates in several faculty-directed, externally-funded curriculum development programs. The Searle Center also implemented the very successful Gateway Science Course Workshop program that has received more than one million dollars in external support, most recently from the National Science Foundation.

Other units which report to Steve include the International Office which has added staff to help it work with our staff, faculty, and students to negotiate ever-more-burdensome federal regulations regarding visas and residency; the Undergraduate Leadership Program which has grown from fewer than 100 to over 170 participants annually while at the same time sharpening its focus and enhancing the experiences of its students; and the Residential College program that enriches the experience of the 1,300 students living in the university’s 11 Residential Colleges through co-curricular programming and opportunities for informal interaction with faculty.

Steve’s ability to work collaboratively with colleagues from across the university has contributed significantly to our efforts to enhance the undergraduate experience at Northwestern. In this connection, he established an undergraduate council to coordinate policies and procedures dealing with the whole spectrum of academic and administrative issues involving all six undergraduate schools, the Division of Student Affairs, and the Office of the Registrar. He has further deepened and solidified cooperation of the academic side of the University with the Division of Student Affairs, enabling Northwestern to benefit from a more unified view of undergraduate life.

Steve came to his current position with significant administrative experience: He served as Assistant Dean for Freshmen in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences from 1985 to 1988; Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences from 1988 to 1993; and chairperson of the Department of Mathematics from 1993 to 1996. He has been a member of many of the university’s most important planning committees including the Task Force on the Undergraduate Experience and the faculty planning groups that produced the Highest Order of Excellence I and II, as well as a plenitude of other committees with less sweeping charges.

In the 13 years that Steve and I have worked together in both Weinberg and the Office of the Provost, I have valued his advice and counsel on any number of matters, not limited to undergraduate education. As the occasion has arisen, I have asked Steve to take on challenging responsibilities which go well beyond issues of undergraduate education, the most notable of which was coordinating the university’s re-accreditation by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. Re-accreditation was granted in 2004, without conditions.

Thousands of members of the Northwestern community have been touched directly or indirectly by Steve’s work as Associate Provost. In many cases, his positive impact as an advocate or facilitator has not been visible; however, his steady attention to the needs of undergraduates and his effective leadership have been critical to our success in enriching their Northwestern experiences. Like the students and faculty who have benefited from the initiatives he undertook, I deeply appreciate his commitment and many contributions to the University.

Sincerely,

Lawrence B. Dumas
Provost