University President John Bravman, along with Faculty Chair Bill Kenny, announced the selection of the University’s next provost, Elisabeth Mermann-Jozwiak, in a campus-wide email on Feb. 19. After a broad and thorough national search, Bravman expressed that “Elisabeth was a clear choice in a competitive field of candidates.”

About 90 students, faculty, and staff participated in the search process by meeting with Mermann-Jozwiak. Bravman thanked them for their assistance as “their work was instrumental in helping us reach this successful outcome.”

Currently, Mermann-Jozwiak serves as the Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences at Gonzaga University where she is also a professor of English and Women’s and Gender Studies. Mermann-Jozwiak earned a Master of Arts in English and Theology from the University of Cologne in Germany. She later received a doctorate in English from the University of Madison-Wisconsin.

Aside from Mermann-Jozwiak’s wealth of knowledge in both academics and administration, she is also the author of two books: “Postmodern Vernaculars: Chicana Literature” and “Postmodern Rhetoric and Conversations with Mexican American Writers: Languages and Literatures in the Borderlands.” She also authored various other publications about Chicana literature, feminist theory, and popular culture.

In his email, Bravman thanked  Robert Midkiff as he “has met and exceeded those expectations as interim provost.” Midkiff will return to his role as vice provost when Mermann-Jozwiak assumes her position of provost, which is anticipated to be on July 1.