Provost Moe will Complete Her Second Term at the End of the Academic Year

Today, President Rivera shared the following memo with faculty and staff:

At the end of this academic year, Karine Moe will complete her second, three-year term as Provost and Dean of the Faculty. Many of you have had the opportunity to work closely with Karine and, based on that experience, you know the critical role she has played in shaping Macalester over the past 25 years as a distinguished faculty member and leader. I deeply will miss working closely with her.

Beginning in June 2021, Karine will take a year-long sabbatical, then return in September of 2022 to the faculty of the Economics department as the F.R. Bigelow Professor of Economics, a position she was named to in 2010 based on her excellent teaching and scholarly contributions.

In her role as Provost and Dean of the Faculty, Karine has prioritized creating a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive campus. She oversaw the restructuring of the Kofi Annan Institute for Global Citizenship to better integrate multiculturalism and inclusion into the work of the institute and supported a broad suite of opportunities for faculty development around creating more inclusive classrooms. Karine also partnered closely with other college leaders to oversee programming for faculty and staff that created space for conversations to foster inclusivity. Since 2015, faculty of color have comprised 40% of new tenure track hires.

A theme during Karine’s two terms as Provost has been her strong support for the faculty and the richness of Macalester’s academic experience. During the previous five years, she has hired 20% of the tenure-track faculty and converted 16 faculty positions from non-tenure-track to tenure-track. She also oversaw the creation of a new system of reviews and titles in support of non-tenure-track faculty. Her leadership and vision were instrumental to the design of the Theater and Dance building, and she worked in close partnership with many campus colleagues to complete this project, which will have a long-term impact on the academic program and change the way many faculty across the college are able to teach.

Karine began her service to Macalester in 1995, when she joined the Economics department as an assistant professor. Her many leadership roles at the college have included: Presiding Officer of the Faculty, two terms as Chair of the Faculty Personnel Committee, Economics Department Chair, and member of the President’s strategic planning committee. In addition, she’s been an active member of the community and her profession by serving on boards including: the Associated Colleges of the Midwest Board of Deans, the Minnesota Institute for Talented Youth, Catalyst Community Partners, the American Economic Association’s Committee on the Status of Women in the Economics Profession, and serving as Executive Director of the Metropolitan Area Research Corporation.

On a personal note, I feel a profound sense of appreciation for the incredible partner Karine has been to me since I joined the college. Her knowledge and expertise have helped guide me in my initial months, and I’m extremely grateful to her.

In partnership with the Faculty Personnel Committee (FPC), I will launch a national search for our new Provost. The search will be led by a search committee, which will include representatives from across the campus community. I will share additional detail soon about the search including the process for nominations.

In the meantime, please join me in offering hearty thanks to Provost Karine Moe for her many years of dedicated service to Macalester and the incredible impact she has had on the college.

With deep appreciation,

Dr. Suzanne M. Rivera
President