After only six short months as provost, Donald Pope-Davis resigned from his position Dec. 13, 2013 with Patricia O’Donoghue returning as interim provost.

O’Donoghue, vice president for alumni outreach and engagement, was named interim provost July 1, 2012 after former provost Helmut Epp stepped down, ending seven years of service.

Pope-Davis came to DePaul from the University of Notre Dame through a nationwide search by the Board of Trustees and the Provost Search Committee that went as far as to fly candidates in for interviews and meet and greets with students, after which attendees were invited to give feedback. As of now, it is unclear whether or not another nationwide search will be done or if O’Donoghue will be offered the position permanently.

“Professor Pope-Davis is on academic leave, which is what many universities call a sabbatical, for the winter and spring quarters,” a DePaul spokeswoman said. “Because his resignation was submitted just last month, a decision about a permanent replacement has not yet been determined.”

Following his six-month academic leave, Pope-Davis will return as a professor in the psychology department with a tenured track. In his time as provost, Pope- Davis made visits to the school’s colleges and met with many different groups of faculty, staff and students. Around November, selected student leaders from Student Affairs met with Pope-Davis to talk about their experiences at DePaul.

Junior Connor Lillis and sophomore Megan Thall, both orientation coordinators for the office of New Student & Family Engagement, were present at the meeting with Pope-Davis.

“I think he came in with a bolder or more aggressive style of leadership than maybe some us were used to working with at the university,” Thall said.

“He was very abrasive,” Lillis said. “He came across as a very intense personality.”

Although most students don’t understand the role of the provost, the sudden resignation of Pope- Davis over winter break still came as a shock.

“I was shocked,” Lillis said. “I assumed he would be in it for the long haul and he was going to come in and he was going to make major changes throughout the university so that we could operate better.”

Many students are not aware of who the provost is and what his responsibilities include.

“Honestly, I don’t know,” Giovanny Ospina, a junior political science major, said. “I assume he or she handles stuff with the school. I don’t know. I literally just come to school.”

A provost is the chief academic officer at the university and as such, the provost is immediately responsible for the intellectual life of the institution, including the quality of education, research and service. The provost is the university’s second in command and works closely with the president and the executive vice president.

The provost, who is appointed by the Board of Trustees, reports to President Rev. Fr. Dennis H. Holtschneider, C.M. He makes major decisions for both the longterm academic development and day-to-day performance of the university.

Some of those include overseeing the deans and activities of the schools and colleges, enrollment management and marketing, teaching and learning resources and student affairs. The provost is responsible for ensuring the university’s financial vitality through its academic programs and enrollment strategies, according to a university spokeswoman.

Nearly anything that influences a student, from a lounge space for commuters to a new academic program, goes through the provost. When students were asked if they knew the provost had stepped down, answers were similar.

“No,” said Ospina. “I probably got an email about it. Honestly, stuff like that: delete.”

Unawareness doesn’t mean that the situation was any less bizarre.

“It’s disappointing because [the provost’s time in office] was only six months,” he said. “Whoever was in charge of hiring or appointing… should handle that process better.”

“I think it’s really weird that he dropped the position like it was no big deal,” freshman business major Trystan Gilbert, who also did not know about the position, said. “I guess it’s fine if he’s doing other important stuff at the school. But it’s still weird.”