Welcome

Extraordinary commitment to intellectual and creative inquiry and to the pursuit of ideas distinguishes the University of Chicago from all other institutions of higher education. From its earliest days, Chicago has welcomed scholars and students based on the qualities of their minds and the promise of their ideas. In this distinctive environment, women and men were admitted from the day the University opened its doors in 1892, Georgiana Simpson became the first black woman to earn a doctorate in the United States (1921), Allison Davis became one of the first black tenured faculty members at a major non-historically black university (1947), and Jews in the mid-twentieth century found an academic home when other elite institutions practiced discrimination. Chicago's emphasis on intellectual inquiry and integrity remains a defining characteristic of our culture. In various ways, all members of our community take pride in and responsibility for upholding our core values.

The University of Chicago's Provost must assiduously ensure the robust health of these academic values. On a daily basis, the Provost is responsible for the planning, implementation, and administration of the academic programs of the institution. Three faculty members serving as Deputy Provosts and six Associate Provosts work with me to fulfill the functions of the Office and to manage the initiatives listed on the initiatives page. At Chicago, a tenured member of the faculty serves as Provost, usually for a five-year term.

My staff and I work in concert with the academic and administrative leaders of the University, including the deans who lead our Divisions, Schools, and College; the Vice President for Research; the Chief Financial Officer & Vice President for Administration; the Director of Argonne National Laboratory; the Vice President & Chief Information Officer; the Vice President & Dean of Students in the University; the Associate Vice President & Budget Director; and the Secretary of the Faculties.

Thomas F. Rosenbaum,
John T. Wilson Distinguished Service Professor in Physics, the James Franck Institute and the College