In the interview, Justice said he plans to make “a positive difference” at TU.
On Jan. 18, President Brad Carson announced that the search for a new provost was over. George Justice has been appointed as the University of Tulsa’s next provost and executive vice president for academic affairs beginning July 1.
Justice is currently an English professor at Arizona State University. He previously served as dean of humanities and associate vice president for arts and humanities in the university’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences from 2013 to 2017. Before his deanship at the Arizona state school, Justice was a member of the English faculty at the University of Missouri, where he served as vice provost for advanced studies and dean of the Graduate School from 2010 to 2013. Justice also taught at the University of Pennsylvania, Marquette University and Louisiana State University prior to joining the University of Missouri in 2002.
I reached out to Justice in an email to get his thoughts on the provostship and TU. When asked about his goals for the position, the new provost expressed his desire to “support the faculty and staff who create such an incredible learning environment for the students at TU.” He said that he planned to lead with “collaboration” as his primary tactic. “We’ll have a lot of conversations: with faculty, with staff, with the university leadership, with community stakeholders. Change is dependent on talent and resources, and part of the provost’s job is to bring talented faculty, staff, and students to campus,” he added.
Justice also expressed interest in improving TU’s academic potential. He said, “I am hopeful that in concert with President Carson’s vision for the university and working with the faculty, we’ll both improve the current offerings and create new academic programs that serve students. TU has a nearly unique mix of strong liberal arts programs and professional programs with a small student body that can take advantage of all of it.”
With the struggle and division True Commitment incited in 2019 that caused the university’s faculty to vote no confidence in former president and provost, Gerard Clancy and Janet Levit respectively, students are curious to see how Justice will measure up in the coming semester. True Commitment was a reorganization plan that proposed to make budget cuts and eliminate 40% of the academic programs TU offers.
When asked if he felt heading TU’s academia is a daunting task, he responded, “Yes—not because I don’t feel up to it, but because the university’s students, staff, and faculty deserve a provost who can lead with vision—and also competently manage the complexity of the academic enterprise at the university. What’s daunting is the expectations that the university rightly has for the job I will do.” He said that the provost search committee described the university as “an institution with a combination of nationally recognized programs and a general excellence that is looking for re-energization after a couple of complicated years.”
Justice also expanded on his outside perspective of the on-campus struggles, saying they “resulted… from a clash among people who were, and are, all deeply committed to the institution. TU is, in my view, in a very strong strategic position in the landscape of American higher education… People see the university’s academic excellence and large endowment and believe, as I do, that there is potential to do things differently, and better, than any university in the country.”
However, Justice also said, “It will be a relief to work at TU, where I’ll be expected (and will want) to get to know nearly everyone on campus.” ASU has a total enrollment of over 134,500 students as of fall 2021, whereas TU has a total enrollment of 3,837 students. Justice acknowledged this overwhelming difference and explained that “ASU is optimized for scale, and much of my work was to keep things personalized while serving the immense number of students.”
Justice accepted the provost position because he believes in making “a positive difference, not only for people who are on campus now, but for the many thousands who will come to campus over the next few decades.” He found that his “firm commitment to academic excellence is shared by everyone” including President Carson, the Board of Trustees and staff members he met as he toured campus. Justice also said that “Someone who works in the student center went a half hour out of her way to get me a cup of coffee that I really wanted prior to one of my big interviews! That kind of personal care was amazing.”
As for moving to Tulsa, Justice said “The city seems amazing… I am in awe of the commitment of residents to Tulsa, and its cultural opportunities are unparalleled for a city of its size. I am very excited to move to Tulsa this summer!”
When Justice begins his duties at the start of the fall semester, he hopes that “students will take the time to meet with me and let me know what’s on their minds.”
Justice received a bachelor’s degree in English at Wesleyan University followed by a master’s degree and doctorate at the University of Pennsylvania. He specializes in 18th century British literature and is considered a distinguished scholar of Jane Austen.
