Provost Dr. Alisa White is being considered for the provost position at the University of Texas-Tyler.
She came to MSU in 2010 from UT-Tyler, where she served as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.
She said she is considering taking the job if she is selected.
“I haven’t considered any opportunities outside of MSU other than UT Tyler,” she said.
“I was nominated by someone and asked if I would allow my name to be run,” she said. “I was also nominated last year when the former provost left in March, but declined to keep my name in the pool at that time.”
She said a leading factor in her decision is to be with her husband, who still lives in Tyler.
“What’s changed is that it has become clear that my husband will not be able to move his business to Wichita Falls and we live four hours apart,” she said. “The original plan was for my husband to move his jewelry store here, but the Wichita Falls economy isn’t such that it would be easy for a new store to enter the market.”
White said her decision has nothing to do with personnel at MSU. She gets along with everyone, she said.
The provost said she has spent a lot of time making academics jell with budgetary concerns.
“I’ve spent a lot of time on budget issues, and with my team, saved a lot of money by delaying hires and reorganizing some units,” White said. “Assessment continues to be a big issue, and Dr. (Robert) Clark and I worked together to tweak the assessment process, particularly in terms of core curriculum assessment.”
She has also worked with Dr. Rodney Cate, interim dean of the College of Sciences and Mathematics, on a proposal for a new interdisciplinary engineering degree. She helped write a proposal to find money to support the program.
In addition, she has worked on clarifying policies.
“I asked the Academic Appeals Committee to review the academic dishonesty policy, and the committee has proposed some changes,” she said. “I’ve asked Student Affairs to give input. I’m hoping to reduce ambiguity in some of the policies.”
She said she is continually trying to improve the university and herself.
“I want to learn more, serve more, and do more, and expect that to be a career-long goal,” she said.
