I am are very pleased to announce that Provost Michael Halleran is the recipient of the CAMWS Special Service Award.
Professor Halleran became the College’s fifth provost in 2009. He also serves as a Professor of Classical studies. He received his A.B. from Kenyon College where he graduated summa cum laude with high honors in Classics and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He received his A.M. and Ph.D. from Harvard University, focusing his studies on the Greek and Roman classics. After an initial position at Connecticut College, he moved to the University of Washington, where he was a professor of classics, then department Chair (1991-97) and Divisional Dean for the Arts and Humanities (1997-2005). His teaching focused on ancient Greek language, literature, intellectual history and mythology, and his publications (articles, books and translations) are primarily on Greek tragedy. From 2005-09, Halleran served as Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Miami.
At the University of Washington, Halleran oversaw the creation of the Simpson Center for the Humanities and the Center for Digital Arts. He was deeply involved in strategic planning, faculty development, and curricular innovations. While serving as Dean of Arts and Sciences at the University of Miami, he created new programs for faculty development, started up freshman seminars, increased undergraduate research opportunities, and helped to triple the annual fund-raising in the College. He also spearheaded the efforts to secure an NSF ADVANCE grant to improve the recruitment and retention of women and under-represented minorities in the sciences and engineering.
As the William & Mary’s chief academic officer, Provost Halleran oversees Arts & Sciences and the other four schools - Education, Law, Mason School of Business, and Marine Science. The Provost works closely with the President, senior management team, and Board of Visitors to effectively plan and manage the university's strategic planning efforts and strengthen William & Mary as a leading liberal arts university in the 21st century.
The description of his duties at the College website states: “A priority of the Provost's responsibilities is nurturing W&M faculty and working with them to foster an environment that stimulates their teaching and research efforts, with a focus on student achievement in the classroom and research lab.” True to this mission, Provost Halleran has spearheaded the Creative Adaptation Program, providing Faculty with funds to pursue new programs and ideas. Under the aegis of this initiative, several new and exciting programs have begun. In particular, thanks to funds from this program, the Classical Studies Department was able to launch its highly successful Post-baccalaureate program in Classical Studies. In addition, Provost Halleran proved an enthusiastic supporter of the new College Curriculum, a bold and innovative program of study conceived by W&M faculty, that combines a strong foundation in the liberal arts while looking forward to the fulfilling student needs in the 21st century. Provost Halleran was instrumental in helping secure funds for the new Center of Liberal Arts, which supports a robust liberal arts education through the continual organizing and infusing of content, integration, creativity, and innovation throughout the undergraduate College Curriculum. Provost Halleran also embraced the Faculty’s mandate that the new curriculum should be taught at W&M and by permanent W&M faculty, thus confirming the College’s commitment to providing a world-class education to students while also securing a nurturing working environment for faculty.
Provost Halleran is also a proud member of the Classical Studies department. It is partly thanks to his office’s generosity that this annual meeting was able to be hosted by the College of William and Mary, and his enthusiasm and support for the entire endeavor, especially during the most difficult planning stages is very much appreciated by the members of the local committee and the association as a whole. As many on the W&M campus will attest, Provost Halleran’s love for the classics never fails to come to the surface, as his speeches and comments are frequently peppered with plenty of references from the classical world.
For all his contributions to the field of Classics, the Department, the College of W&M, and Higher Education more generally, we are very pleased to honor Michael Halleran with the CAMWS Special Service Award.
Vassiliki Panoussi
Audio from the banquet at the 2016 CAMWS Meeting
Special Service Award 1: