by Taylor Bryant and Rachel Williams
University of West Georgia has named Dr. J. Micheal Crafton as the new provost and vice president for academic affairs. In addition to serving as the chief academic officer of the university, Dr. Crafton will lead the entire division of academic affairs and take on the role of chief executive officer when UWG President Dr. Kyle Marrero is absent. Dr. Crafton, who has held the same position at Clayton State University since 2009, will replace UWG Interim Provost Dr. Donadrian Rice.
“To say that I am happy and thrilled to be offered the position of provost at UWG would be an epic understatement,” said Dr. Crafton. “Moreover, I am eager to get started developing plans to combine President Marrero’s vision with the tremendous talent of the academic community of the university.”
Dr. Crafton’s long history in academic affairs includes becoming UWG’s first associate vice president of academic affairs in 1997, shortly after receiving the Honors College Teacher of the Year Award for his work as an English professor. As the associate vice president, Dr. Crafton sometimes stepped into the role of “acting provost” or vice president of academic affairs when Provost Tim Hynes was called to serve as “acting president.”
“Five finalists for the position interviewed on campus, including open meetings with faculty and staff,” said Dr. N. Jane McCandless, dean of UWG’s College of Social Sciences and chair of the Provost Search Committee. “Members of the search committee combed through more than 400 anonymous online comments and talked with colleagues in offices, hallways, even in the dining halls to get feedback about candidates. Through all these channels, faculty and staff clearly and enthusiastically communicated their choice of Micheal Crafton for the position of provost and VPAA at UWG.”
During his time at UWG, Dr. Crafton was instrumental in the creation and expansion of eCore. He also crafted secondary education programs as a joint effort between the College of Education and the College of Arts and Sciences in 1999. Since joining Clayton State University, Dr. Crafton reorganized the office of academic affairs and the College of Health to better serve students. During this time, CSU was named one of the Top 100 Places to Work in Metro Atlanta in 2012 and 2013.
“The provost and vice president for academic affairs is an extremely important job - serving as chief academic officer of the university, leader of the division of academic affairs, as well as chief executive officer for the institution in the president's absence,” said Dr. Marrero. “Dr. Crafton brings executive leadership experience as the provost and VPAA at Clayton State, placement and leadership in important USG task force initiatives, and institutional knowledge of UWG. I have every confidence that he will hit the ground running and lead us to our next levels of success.”
