Colvin named provost of Brown University

Vice Provost for Research Vicki Colvin has been appointed provost of Brown University in Providence, R.I. She will begin her new role July 1.

President David Leebron and Provost George McLendon shared the news “with both pride and mixed feelings” in an email to the Rice community May 20.

Vicki Colvin

Colvin, who is also Rice’s Kenneth S. Pitzer-Schlumberger Professor of Chemistry and a professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, joined the Rice faculty almost 18 years ago as an assistant professor of chemistry.

Since then, she has “contributed in significant ways to our campus community as an outstanding and innovative teacher, an international scholar of nanotechnology and an academic leader,” the email said. “While her departure will be a deep loss for our campus, we are proud of her many accomplishments while at Rice.”

Leebron and McLendon said they will form a small group of faculty in the next few weeks to guide the selection of Rice’s next vice provost for research.