New Academic Dean and Provost

Subject: Selection of new Naval Academy Academic Dean and Provost

Brigade, Faculty, and Staff,

I am proud to announce that Dr. Andrew T. Phillips has been selected to succeed Dr. William Miller, as the Academy’s Academic Dean and Provost. Dr. Phillips, who is currently the Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Dean of Graduate Studies at the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire, will assume the position in July.

As you know, the Academic Dean and Provost is responsible for the entire academic program for the 4,400-member Brigade of Midshipmen, oversees 540 faculty members, and serves as the primary source of information and advice to me regarding the education of Midshipmen.  Dean Miller has been serving as Academic Dean and Provost since 1997.  Last year, he announced his plans to retire at the end of the 2009 academic year.  We will formally recognize Dean Miller’s important contribution to the Naval Academy over the next few months. 

The year-long process to find a new academic dean and provost for the United States Naval Academy began in May 2008 with the formation of a search committee. The committee included representatives of several academic disciplines at the Academy, included a former university president and Board of Visitors chairman, and was chaired by retired Navy Adm. Steve Abbot.  After interviewing a select group of highly qualified candidates, the committee recommended Dr. Phillips as the new Academic Dean and Provost.  I forwarded the recommendation to the Secretary of the Navy, who confirmed the selection on April 2.

The following is a sampling of Dr. Phillips accomplishments:  In 1984, Dr. Phillips received his Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics and computer science from the Pennsylvania State University.  He earned master's and doctorate degrees in computer and information science from the University of Minnesota in 1986 and 1988 respectively.  Dr. Phillips’ first teaching position was as assistant professor in the Naval Academy’s Computer Science Department from 1988-1993; he was promoted to associate professor in 1993, and continued to serve in the department until 1998.  In 1996, he also served as a visiting associate professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry at the University of California, San Francisco.  In 1998, Dr. Phillips left the Naval Academy to assume the position of professor and chair of the Computer Science Department at the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire.  Since 2004, he has served as the Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and the Dean of Graduate Studies at the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire.

VADM Jeffrey L. Fowler

Superintendent

United States Naval Academy