Provost and Executive Vice President W.A. “Bud” Baeslack III will step down from his position at the end of the 2017-2018 academic year, Case Western Reserve President Barbara R. Snyder announced today.
Baeslack, who became the university’s chief academic officer in the fall of 2008, oversaw development of the 2013 strategic plan as well as searches for eight school dean positions, four vice presidents and the institution’s first academic leader for international affairs. He is currently sponsoring the Provost’s Commission on the Undergraduate Experience (CUE), a two-year effort scheduled to conclude at the end of this academic year.
“Bud has been an exceptional partner over the past nine years,” President Snyder said. “His tenure has been distinguished by dedication to our mission, support of our academic leaders, and commitment to enhancing the entire student experience. I deeply appreciate all of his service, and know his team will profoundly miss his leadership.”
Baeslack came to Case Western Reserve from The Ohio State University (OSU), where he had served as dean of the College of Engineering and executive dean of the Professional Colleges. He had earned his undergraduate and master’s degrees at OSU before going to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) to earn a doctorate in materials engineering. After spending 17 years at OSU as an engineering faculty member, department chair, associate dean and interim vice president of research, Baeslack spent five years as engineering dean at RPI.
“It has been a privilege to work with Barbara to help Case Western Reserve realize even more of its tremendous potential,” Provost Baeslack said. “But after a decade as provost here, and a quarter century serving in academic administration overall, I feel it is time to return to the work that first drew me to higher education—teaching outstanding students and continuing materials research.”
Baeslack’s research has focused on the joining of advanced materials, in particular those used in the aerospace industry. In addition to his academic appointments, Baeslack also served 25 years as a research scientist at what is now known as the Materials and Manufacturing Directorate of the U.S. Air Force Materials Laboratory. He and his students and colleagues have published extensively on welding and metallurgy, authoring more than 150 journal and proceedings articles. He has been elected a fellow of ASM International, The Welding Institute and the American Welding Society.
During his time as provost, Baeslack led implementation of Forward Thinking, the strategic plan developed the year before he arrived on campus. Among its priorities were interdisciplinary initiatives and internationalization of the campus. In his first year, Baeslack created a faculty committee to review funding proposals for efforts in such areas as advanced materials, energy, origins and social justice. The following academic year, he appointed Case Western Reserve’s inaugural campuswide leader for global efforts, David Fleshler. The university’s dramatic progress since—both in increasing numbers of international undergraduates and undergraduates participating in study abroad experiences—helped the university win the 2016 Andrew Heiskell Award for Innovation in International Education.
Other highlights of Baeslack’s tenure included early support for development and launch of the Larry Sears and Sally Zlotnick Sears think[box] in the Richey-Mixon building; revival of the Distinguished University Professor program; launch of the Faculty Distinguished Research Award; and co-founding of the Provost Scholars program for East Cleveland high school students. Baeslack also invested significantly in admissions, contributing to the university’s more than 250 percent growth in applications, dramatic gains in the academic quality of entering classes, and major improvements in selectivity.
“The provost’s role is fundamentally to lead advancement of the academic mission by enabling the success of others, and increasingly that involves stimulating and supporting collaboration across the campus,” Baeslack said. “Nearly every positive development we have seen on campus has emerged from people coming together around an idea or initiative, putting its success ahead of any individual acclaim. I have been honored to work with such outstanding faculty, staff and students, and with a truly dedicated leadership team.”
Baeslack emphasized that the work of the CUE remains a top university priority, and that he would continue to work closely with its chair, Associate Professor of English Kimberly Emmons, and its other leaders during the course of the year.
The university will launch a national search for Baeslack’s successor; President Snyder will share additional details, including a request for search committee nominations, within the next few weeks.