George Washington University Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Forrest Maltzman announced today that he will step down as provost. Dr. Maltzman will remain in the position until a successor is chosen after a national search.
In a letter to faculty and staff, Dr. Maltzman said GW’s recent successful reaccreditation and the approaching end point of the university’s Vision 2021 strategic plan “make it a right time for me to step down.”
“This decision was tough,” he wrote in the letter. “It has been a true privilege to serve with faculty and staff who care deeply about the university’s teaching and research missions and to see the progress we have made together on so many dimensions. Likewise, I have loved…the challenge of continuous improvement that our students and faculty rightfully seek every day.”
GW President Thomas LeBlanc called Dr. Maltzman “the embodiment of the soul of the George Washington University.”
“His commitment to student success, excellence in academics and a world-class faculty is evident in all he says and does,” Dr. LeBlanc said. “Forrest has been at my side since my first day at GW, and I am grateful for his wise counsel. I take comfort in knowing he will only be a phone call away as he returns to that which he loves so much—teaching the next generation of global citizen leaders.”
Dr. Maltzman—known for his collegial and collaborative approach, a desire to make decisions based on data and a propensity for solving problems through strategic planning—will return to the Political Science Department after taking his first sabbatical in over 20 years.
Under his leadership, GW has made tremendous strides across its research, teaching and service missions: graduation and retention rates improved with the four-year graduation rate last year reaching an institutional record while enrolling a more diverse student body; Gelman Library evolved into a broader resource for faculty and students that offers support for programming, coding and quantitative skills; online course offerings grew to an enrollment of 10,000 students in 2018; and GW built and equipped a number of core research facilities.
Dr. Maltzman joined GW’s nationally-ranked Political Science Department in 1993, was chair of the department from 2008-2011, was senior vice provost for Academic Affairs and Planning from 2011 to 2015 and became provost in 2016.
Dr. LeBlanc expects to form a search committee in the near future and has retained AGB Search, a firm that specializes in higher education executives, to assist in the process.
Board of Trustees Chair Nelson Carbonell Jr., B.S. 85, said that he has had “no better partner over the years committed to the continuous improvement of the George Washington University.”
“Forrest leads with his heart and an understanding of the data and metrics that drive our progress,” Mr. Carbonell said, “and his heart loves GW. Our university is a much stronger one due to his leadership.”
