Courant appointed
provost and EVP for Academic Affairs
By Nancy Connell / News
and Information Services
Paul Courant, who has served as interim
provost and executive vice president for
Academic Affairs of U-M since January,
has been appointed to the position on
a permanent basis by President Mary Sue
Coleman. The three-year term will be effective
Oct.1, subject to the approval of the
Board of Regents.
“Paul Courant embodies the academic
credentials, the management experience
and the public policy expertise that make
him ideally suited to the position of
provost,” Coleman says. “As
an eminent economist and a seasoned administrative
leader, he combines a passion for the
academic mission with a deep understanding
of the structure and organization of the
University.
Paul
Courant
“Furthermore, he is a longtime
member of the University faculty who brings
a great love and knowledge of the institution.
I have worked with him as a valued and
trusted colleague since becoming president,
and I look forward to our continued association.”
Courant says he is “honored to
serve as the chief academic officer of
the University of Michigan, one of the
great public research universities in
the United States.
“The most important thing we can
do is to enable our superb faculty and
our outstanding students to take advantage
of the tremendous depth and breadth of
what the University can offer. The University
of Michigan has historically led the nation’s
universities in fostering collaborations
that connect different units, multiple
disciplines and diverse backgrounds, and
I look forward to continuing and strengthening
these traditions. The University can and
must maintain and build upon its excellence
in order to serve our students, our faculty,
the national research community and the
state of Michigan.
“I look forward to working with
President Coleman, the deans and executive
officers, faculty, students, and the entire
community to serve this wonderful institution.”
Courant’s distinguished service
to the University includes his time as
chair of the Department of Economics from
1995-97 and as director of the Institute
of Public Policy Studies (now the Gerald
R. Ford School of Public Policy) in 1983-87
and 1989-90. He was appointed a senior
fellow of the Michigan Society of Fellows,
1997-2001, and was named an Arthur F.
Thurnau Professor, 1996-99, for his outstanding
teaching.
He served as a senior staff economist
with the President's Council of Economic
Advisers in 1979-80, and as a member of
the Technical Advisory Committee for the
Congressional Budget Office in 1987-88.
Courant has published numerous articles
and books on research topics including
tax policy and reform, federal budget
deficits, poverty, the effects of gender
in labor markets and school finance.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in
history from Swarthmore College (1968),
as well as a master’s degree and
a Ph.D. in economics from Princeton University
in 1973 and 1974, respectively. Courant
joined the U-M faculty in 1973, and has
been a faculty associate of the Institute
for Social Research since 1975.
Courant’s appointment begins Oct.
1, 2002 and continues through July 31,
2005, with salary continued at the current
rate received as interim provost, $283,250.
Following a comprehensive review after
the second year of the term, the appointment
may be renewed for a term of five years.