OU announced the appointment of its new vice provost for faculty Wednesday morning, pending Board of Regents approval.
Sarah Ellis, currently the Weitzenhoffer Family College of Fine Arts associate director and the Kenneth and Bernadine Russell professor chair in music theory, has also served in several other administrative positions and committees during her 19-year tenure at OU.
The search process considered 12 “highly-qualified applicants,” according to an email from OU Senior Vice President and Provost André-Denis Wright, before the search committee narrowed the field to six semifinalists and interviewed three finalists.
The vice provost for faculty’s responsibilities include serving as the senior vice president and provost’s liaison for faculty performance evaluation, managing faculty career development initiatives and overseeing community engagement initiatives, according to OU’s website.
According to the email, Ellis was the OU Faculty Senate chair in 2017-2018, when OU conducted the controversial presidential search, resulting in the hiring of former OU President Jim Gallogly. Ellis was also a member of the Faculty Senate Executive Committee for three years before becoming chair of the committee.
Ellis has taught several different undergraduate courses and graduate seminars in music, and conducts research focused on “critical theory and its applications to understanding music,” according to the email. Her published academic literature consists of numerous articles, reviews and book chapters, according to the email, as well as her book, “Composing the Modern Subject: Four String Quartets by Dmitri Shostakovich.”
Ellis earned a bachelor of arts degree in music and mathematics from the University of Colorado-Boulder before earning her doctoral degree from the University of Texas-Austin, according to the email.
Ellis will succeed interim Vice Provost for Faculty Lori Snyder, who was appointed in June 2020. The next Board of Regents meeting is scheduled for March 8-9.
