Krieger School dean Beverly Wendland named provost at Washington University

Beverly Wendland, an accomplished biology scholar, dedicated educator, and widely admired academic leader who has served for the past five years as dean of Johns Hopkins University's Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, has been appointed the next provost of Washington University in St. Louis.

Image caption: Beverly Wendland

Image credit: Will Kirk / Johns Hopkins University

Wendland, a member of the Johns Hopkins faculty since 1998, will assume her new role on July 1. Plans for identifying her successor will be announced at a later date.

"A scientist who championed the humanities, an academic leader who advocated fiercely for access and inclusion at all levels, and a dean of the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences who was also the consummate university citizen, Beverly has made a profound and lasting impact on the Krieger School and Johns Hopkins," Johns Hopkins University President Ronald J. Daniels said. "During her tenure, Beverly's capacity for collaboration, her boundless optimism, and her openness to bracing ideas have made Johns Hopkins a more diverse community, laid the groundwork for a new blueprint for undergraduate education, and left the Krieger School on a trajectory for ever-greater excellence.  Though Johns Hopkins will bid farewell to a valued leader, colleague, and friend, we know she will be all that for the Washington University community. We wish Beverly all the best as she steps into her new role."

As James B. Knapp Dean, Wendland oversees the Krieger School and its 22 academic departments within the natural sciences, social sciences, and the humanities. During her tenure as dean, she guided the school through a successful capital campaign that raised $747 million, including a record $75 million gift to the university's philosophy program in 2018. She also played a critical role in the establishment of both the Alexander Grass Humanities Institute as a focal point for humanities scholarship and programming at JHU, and of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Agora Institute, a multidisciplinary academic and public forum dedicated to strengthening democracy around the world by improving and expanding civic engagement and inclusive dialogue.

Under her leadership, the Krieger School increased its tenure-track faculty by 11% and increased funded sponsored research by more than 25%.

Wendland has advocated for innovative approaches to teaching and liberal arts education, overseeing the Krieger School's recent efforts to strengthen and personalize undergraduate education, including through the expansion of small seminar courses, increased use of active learning methods, and more research opportunities in all disciplines. She has also been a champion of diversity and inclusion, developing and supporting strategies to enhance hiring practices and bolster graduate student pipelines to diversify the school's faculty and students.

"Beverly has been an excellent leader for the university and a valuable partner to me personally," JHU Provost Sunil Kumar said. "Beverly is positioned very well to succeed as provost at WashU given her experience managing a diverse and complex school. I greatly appreciate Beverly's many accomplishments as dean of the Krieger School and her more than 20 years of service to the university. I wish her the very best."

Added Wendland: "The excitement I have about the opportunity to move to Washington University as provost is accompanied by bittersweet feelings about leaving my 'home' for more than 20 years. I am grateful to President Daniels, Provost Kumar, and the entire Johns Hopkins community for the privilege of allowing me to serve as a faculty member, department chair, and dean of the Krieger School. I have been fortunate to work with so many dedicated and skilled colleagues across the university, and I view my accomplishments as 'our' accomplishments—it truly has been a team effort. I will miss Hopkins, but I will take with me the countless friendships and memories formed over the years with wonderful students, colleagues, and alumni."

Wendland is a 1986 bioengineering graduate of the University of California, San Diego, and she earned her doctorate in neurosciences at Stanford University in 1994. She joined Hopkins after completing postdoctoral studies at UC-San Diego.

As a scientist, she focuses on the study of the working of cells, using simple yeast as a model to gain insight into the development and treatment of complex human disease. In 2015, she was named a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science for her groundbreaking studies on the genetic, molecular, biochemical, and biophysical mechanisms underlying endocytosis.

Wendland, a staunch advocate of interdisciplinary research, chaired the Krieger School's Department of Biology from 2009 until she was named interim dean in July 2014, succeeding Katherine Newman. She assumed the role of dean on a permanent basis in February 2015.

"I'm thrilled that Beverly Wendland has accepted our offer to become Washington University's next provost," Washington University Chancellor Andrew D. Martin said. "We could not have found a better person to assume this role, and I'm extremely confident that she will provide strong, smart and dynamic leadership to our academic enterprise. She is an accomplished scholar and talented administrator, and we're extremely fortunate to be bringing her to St. Louis."