USC President Carol L. Folt announced the selection of Charles F. Zukoski as the university’s provost and senior vice president for academic affairs, effective Oct. 1. He will hold the Shelly and Ofer Nemirovsky Provost’s Chair.

A skilled administrator, researcher and member of the National Academy for Engineering, Zukoski has been provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at the University at Buffalo. The University at Buffalo (UB) is a premier research-intensive public university, the largest and most comprehensive campus in the State University of New York system. Its nearly 30,000 students pursue their academic interests through more than 300 undergraduate, graduate and professional degree programs.

Under Zukoski’s leadership, the university improved its graduation rates, transformed its general education program, grew and diversified its student body, expanded research productivity and developed new global learning programs. Zukoski also emphasized interdisciplinary research that led the university to tackle large-scale societal challenges that cut across multiple fields, such as disparities in global health.

“Dr. Zukoski joins USC with decades of extensive experience in higher education,” Folt said. “He is committed to excellence and knows how to bring diverse groups together to build interdisciplinary teams. He is the right person for USC at this important moment, and will hit the ground running.”

As the second-ranking administrator at USC, the provost oversees all academic programs at the university, the 23 professional schools and units and educational policies. He will manage the divisions dedicated to academic and faculty affairs, student affairs, admission and enrollment research, campus well-being, global initiatives, libraries and museums, among others. Zukoski said he is enthusiastic about collaborating with faculty members, school leaders and students to advance the university’s educational, research and community engagement goals.

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