Lindenwood University’s next provost and vice president for Academic Affairs will be Mark Arant, who has experience as provost at two other schools, according to a university press release published Thursday.  

Arant will replace Marilyn Abbott, Lindenwood’s provost since 2016, after she retires in June. 

The provost is in charge of all academic operations at Lindenwood, and is the person all professors, deans, and academic staff report to. 

When he spoke to faculty, staff, and student government members in the Scheidegger Center on Feb. 5, he said Lindenwood must invest in science, technology, engineering, and math, but also emphasized the importance of a liberal arts education.  

Arant also said universities must adapt to changes in technology by providing students more hands-on learning experiences to teach them how to apply what they learn.  

“Access to facts is very easy now,” he said. “Our responsibility as university faculty [is] now to teach the students to responsibly use that information, and not just give it to them.”

Arant was one of three candidates for provost who gave presentations to the university last week.  The three finalists, who included Dean of Health Sciences Cynthia Schroeder, were selected from 75 applicants.  

Arant holds a doctorate in organic chemistry from the University of Alabama.  He has been provost at Northeastern State University in Oklahoma and Murray State University in Kentucky.  Before that, he worked at Northeast Louisiana University (Now the University of Louisiana at Monroe) and the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith.  

The press release quoted University President John R. Porter saying, “We are thrilled to have a high caliber person like Dr. Arant. His experience and expertise will help drive Lindenwood to the next level.”