MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia University (WVU) will have a new provost in place in the next several days with the help of Greenwood Asher & Associates.
Four candidates have been invited to campus, and the search committee, faculty, staff, and students have already had the opportunity to meet with Jennifer Roberts from the University of Kansas. Lee Michael Cohen from the University of Mississippi and Beverly Wendland, former provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs and current senior advisor to the chancellor at George Washington University in St. Louis.
The final listening event will be held Friday at 11 a.m. in the Mountainlair. The candidates have been identified a day before their appearance in an effort to respect their current employment status.
“This provost search has been very arduous and very thoughtful, very energy intensive, but we brought four candidates to campus,” WVU President Michael Benson said.
In June of 2024, Maryanne Reed stepped down after three decades of service, and the university named Paul Kreider as the interim provost. At the beginning of Kreider’s service, he was serving a dual role as the interim provost and interim president of Potomac State College.
“I want to thank Paul Kreider, our interim provost, who has done a terrific job,” Benson said. “I’ve gotten to know Paul, and I appreciate him greatly in that position.”
Fabrizio D’Aloisio was hired as the vice president of enrollment management in August of 2025 and is expected to work closely with the new provost. Benson believes the two positions will complement each other once the new provost is in place.
“That position is linked to our provost position because our academic programs, our academic success, and our academic reputation certainly attract students, and the more students we attract, the better,” Benson said.
Benson said D’Aloisio brought the tools he managed in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) to promote enrollment in Morgantown. In the fall of 2025, freshman retention rate is at a record-setting rate of a little more than 85 percent.
“Faaz, as he likes to be called, who came to us from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville,” Benson said. “I mention him because enrollment is absolutely key to our success as we move forward.”
The 16-member selection committee began working with Greenwood Asher & Associates during the summer of 2025 to conduct a national search. The next provost at WVU is expected to be selected within the next several days.
“I really want to commend our co-chairs, Evan Widders and former Faculty Senate Chair Dianna Davis—both of them have done a tremendous job leading the process,” Benson said.