ENG Dean Kenneth Lutchen has been named interim provost of BU effective July 1, while the search for Jean Morrison’s replacement continues. He’s seen here speaking during a NASA downlink event with astronaut Bob Hines (ENG’97) in the George Sherman Union last year. Photo by Cydney Scott

University News

College of Engineering Dean Kenneth Lutchen Named Interim BU Provost

Professor Elise Morgan will lead ENG during his appointment

College of Engineering Dean Kenneth Lutchen will take over as Boston University’s interim provost and chief academic officer on July 1, when Jean Morrison steps down, the University announced Wednesday.

“Ken Lutchen is well-suited by experience and stature to lead the University’s academic enterprise through the transition,” President Robert A. Brown said in a letter to the BU community. “Under his leadership the College of Engineering has thrived, attracting ever more talented students, staff, and faculty. Ken has the knowledge and well-tested judgment to make the difficult decisions about personnel and resources that are essential to maintaining the momentum of the University.”

Morrison, who is also a College of Arts & Sciences professor of Earth and environment, announced this spring that she will step down after serving in BU’s second-highest post since 2011. She will take a one-year sabbatical before joining the faculty.

On Wednesday, Morrison announced that Elise Morgan will serve as interim dean at the College of Engineering during Lutchen’s reassignment.

The appointments are all part of a transition in leadership at BU that began when Brown announced last fall that he will retire on July 31 after leading BU since 2005.

Within ENG, Brown said in his letter, Lutchen has worked to build a welcoming community for students, staff, and faculty. ENG was the first college to create a dean-level position for diversity and outreach, he noted, and Lutchen put in place a diverse new generation of leadership there.

Lutchen, who is also a professor of biomedical engineering, says he is “deeply honored” by the new assignment. He has been dean at ENG since 2006.

“I have spent my entire academic career at Boston University,” he says. “I have had the wonderful experience of watching our consistent commitment and success in all sectors of our mission, from the education of citizens from all disciplines prepared to improve society to the superb range of research impacts across all fields.”

Beginning August 1, Questrom School of Business Dean Emeritus Kenneth Freeman, who has held several top BU posts, will serve as interim president while the search for Brown’s permanent successor continues. “BU has strong momentum as a result of Bob’s and Jean’s leadership. I look forward to partnering with Ken Lutchen to sustain and build upon their legacy,” Freeman says.

Brown believes that his permanent successor should have the chance to choose who will succeed Morrison as BU’s permanent provost. “It is my hope that Ken Lutchen will serve as interim Provost at least until a permanent president is named,” he wrote.

“Ken Lutchen will bring a plethora of experience and excellent energy and enthusiasm to the interim provost role,” says Angela Onwuachi-Willig, dean of the School of Law  and Ryan Roth Gallo & Ernest J. Gallo Professor of Law. “He’s a creative thinker with real commitments to ensuring a rich student experience; supporting faculty research and recruitment; and advancing diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, and access.

“Critically,” she adds, “Ken is committed to advancing the pillars of the strategic plan that Provost Morrison led in its development and to keeping BU on its current upward trajectory.”

Morgan, who Lutchen calls “an extraordinary leader,” is Maysarah K. Sukkar Professor of Engineering Design and Innovation, associate dean for research and faculty development, and director of the Center for Multiscale and Translational Mechanobiology.

As associate dean, Morgan has been “a critical component of the college’s new strategic plan to leverage the power of collaboration for research excellence and impact,” Lutchen says. “She has stood up new junior faculty mentoring programs, designed and overseen a new form of faculty searches that focus on convergent research themes, helped recruit superb cross-disciplinary graduate students, and designed and oversaw the college’s holistic grants administration and finance system.”

“She has also worked seamlessly with BU’s Office of Research and leaders in other schools and colleges to advance research excellence for all of BU,” Lutchen says. As a faculty member, she “has a deep record of being dedicated to the student experience and success.”

In her letter to the BU community, Morrison praised Morgan for her “experience and effectiveness as a leader,” and her extensive teaching and research. “I want to thank Elise Morgan for the service and leadership she will provide in the academic year ahead,” Morrison wrote.

“The college is a wonderful community of students, staff, and faculty who believe deeply in commitment to impact,” Morgan says. “I look forward to doing all that I can to ensure that the college and BU move forward to even greater successes.”