Dear Campus Community,

Following an extensive and highly competitive national search, I’m pleased to announce that we have named Drew Kerkhoff as our new provost. Drew comes to Puget Sound from Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, where he currently serves as associate provost. He will begin his appointment with us on July 10, 2023.

Drew is passionate about supporting an intellectually vibrant, creative, inclusive, and sustainable campus community. In addition to his deep commitment to liberal arts education, he is a proven leader with experience in faculty development, student success efforts, and implementing strategic goals that align with our vision for this university.

Drew earned his B.A. in English with a minor in history at Rutgers College and then spent four years as a woodworker before returning to pursue his master’s and Ph.D. in biology at the University of New Mexico. Drew joined the faculty at Kenyon in 2005 and has held many leadership positions, including serving as chair of the Faculty Affairs Committee, chair of the biology department, and director of student research programs. He became associate provost of Kenyon College in June of 2020 and chaired the college’s COVID-19 Steering Committee through much of the pandemic. In his current role, he has worked to better integrate writing instruction into science education, administered a teaching grant program focused on inclusive pedagogy and universal design, incorporated computational and data science approaches into biology curricula, and helped lead the development of a plan to attain carbon neutrality by 2040.

I’d like to thank our search committee for their good, tireless, and thoughtful work. The committee includes:

  • Sarah Comstock, Dean of Students – Chair
  • Cynarah Alcantara, Admission
  • Holly Beimler, Finance
  • Skylar Bihl, Student Affairs
  • Tracy Doyle, School of Music
  • Kim Kvaal, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
  • Abbie Lacsina, University Relations
  • Ben Lewin, Sociology and Anthropology
  • Emma Loenicker ’25
  • Mark Massey, Athletics
  • Steven Neshyba, Chemistry
  • Mike Pastore, Registrar
  • Karin Steere, Physical Therapy
  • Jonathan Stockdale, Asian Studies; Spirituality, Religion, and Society; and the Race and Pedagogy Institute
  • Nila Wiese, Business Leadership Program
  • Wind Woods, Theatre Arts

The committee also received support from Assistant to the Vice President for Student Affairs Meara O’Malley. Please join me in thanking our search committee and Meara, and welcoming Drew to Puget Sound!

Sincerely,

Isiaah Crawford, Ph.D. | President