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CORVALLIS, Ore. - A committee has been selected to undertake a national search for the new provost and executive vice president at Oregon State University.

Sabah Randhawa, the current provost, will leave OSU this summer to assume the presidency of Western Washington University in August. Ron Adams, interim vice president of administration, has been appointed as the interim provost and executive vice president until the position is filled on a permanent basis.

The provost serves as Oregon State's chief academic officer and second-ranking administrator, providing leadership for academic affairs, faculty and student services, information technology, graduate programs, international programs, OSU's top-ranked online education program, the Extended Campus, and statewide public service programs such as the Agricultural Experiment Station, Forest Research Lab, and the OSU Extension Service.

Administrators reporting directly to the provost include deans of the 11 colleges, the Graduate School and the Honors College; the chief compliance officer; the vice-president for OSU-Cascades campus and other academic leaders. Additionally, the provost partners with other vice presidents on university-wide functions, including financial and capital planning and the university's research agenda.

"This is an enormously important position at OSU," said OSU President Edward Ray. "The provost provides vision and insights to help meet our ambitious long-term goals and manages much of the day-to-day operation of the university.

"We are confident the growing national reputation of Oregon State will attract premier candidates, people who share our commitment to academic and research excellence, to diversity, to global growth and to meeting the educational needs of all Oregonians."

Members of the search committee at OSU will be:

• Scott Ashford, dean of the College of Engineering and search committee chair
• Kathy Bickel, vice president for alumni relations
• Gigi Bruce, special assistant to the provost
• Debbie Colbert, secretary of the OSU Board of Trustees
• Allison Davis-White Eyes, director of diversity and cultural engagement
• Lee Ann Garrison, director of the School of Arts & Communication
• Mike Green, interim vice president for finance
• Kate Halischak, director of student athlete academic services and president of the Faculty Senate
• John Killefer, head of the Department of Animal & Rangeland Sciences; representative of the Faculty Senate Administrative Appointments Committee and of the University Budget Committee
• Shannon Lipscomb, assistant professor of human development and family sciences at OSU-Cascades
• Rachel Grisham, president of the Associated Students of OSU
• Sastry Pantula, dean of the College of Science
• Scott Reed, vice provost for university outreach and engagement, and director of the OSU Extension Service
• Susana Rivera-Mills, vice provost and dean of undergraduate studies
• Shawn Scoville, executive vice president of the OSU Foundation
• Brett Tyler, director of the Center for Genome Research & Biocomputing

Isaacson, Miller, a national higher education search firm headquartered in Boston, will assist in this process. The company is known for identifying transformative leaders in education and other important fields.

University officials said the search committee plans to begin its work in early June and efforts will be made to fill the position during the next academic year. National searches typically take between 9 and 12 months. The process will remain fully confidential until finalists for the position are publicly announced prior to campus visits.