Bruce McPheron to serve as interim Ohio State provost

Ohio State University President Michael V. Drake has named Bruce McPheron interim executive vice president and provost, effective Dec. 2.

For the last three years, McPheron has served as the vice president for agricultural administration and dean of the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES).

He will serve in the interim position while the university conducts a national search for a successor to Executive Vice President and Provost Joseph Steinmetz, who will become chancellor at the University of Arkansas on Jan. 1, 2016.

“Bruce is a highly respected scholar, teacher and leader who has demonstrated a deep commitment to advancing the academic mission of the university and engaging with the community,” Drake said. “We are most fortunate to have his leadership during this transition period.”

McPheron is a member of the university’s Discovery Themes executive team, and served as the 2013-14 chair of the Policy Board of Directors of Agriculture for the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities.

An entomologist by training, McPheron joined Ohio State as vice president and dean in November 2012. He oversees more than 3,700 graduate and undergraduate students within the college on the Columbus and Wooster campuses, including the Agricultural Technical Institute. He also oversees the research and outreach arms of the college, Ohio State University Extension and the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, encompassing more than 1,700 faculty and staff statewide.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in entomology at Ohio State and a master's degree in biology and doctorate in entomology at the University of Illinois.

As part of his focus on positioning the college to help Ohio plan for the future, McPheron launched the Field to Faucet initiative in 2014, a statewide collaborative effort led by Ohio State faculty and staff intended to ensure that all Ohioans have access to clean drinking water.

While McPheron serves as interim provost, Ronald Hendrick, senior associate dean and professor, will assume the post of interim dean of CFAES.