Lafayette College has named a new provost: Laura McGrane, the current associate provost for strategic initiatives at Haverford College. McGrane will be taking over as Lafayette’s chief academic officer after Provost John Meier departs this summer.
“I’ll have a lot to learn when I get to campus, so my first priority this summer will be to do just that: listen and learn,” wrote McGrane in an email, adding that she would like The Lafayette to touch base about what she has learned once she settles into her new role.
“I couldn’t be more excited about Laura’s appointment,” said college President Nicole Hurd. “She really does embody that teacher-scholar model.”
In addition to her role at Haverford’s provost’s office, McGrane co-chairs Haverford’s strategic planning implementation committee, a responsibility lauded by Hurd. She is also a former English department chair.
“I think Laura sees both the incredible strength of this college and also the potential we have as we move forward into this bicentennial and beyond,” Hurd said.
At Haverford, McGrane served as the founding director of an interdisciplinary space, known as VCAM, “for faculty and students from across the disciplines to celebrate visual and maker culture. She additionally helped secure grants for the Philadelphia Area Creative Collaboratives, which she said “brought courses, non-profits, and artists together in communities.”
“All of this work was collaborative and built on the vision and expertise of faculty, students, and staff,” she wrote. “I see one of my key roles as translating equally exciting visions into reality at Lafayette.”
