K-State provost announces retirement after 2023 fall semester

As provost, Taber was essentially second in command to the university president.

“I was drawn to K-State’s land-grant focus on service and students in a powerhouse research university,” Taber said in the letter. “From the moment I donned my first purple tie as a job candidate, I have always felt that culture of care and community, that special purple sauce that cannot be understood without experience.”

In the letter, Taber reflected on his time in Manhattan, saying K-State’s resilience through COVID-19 was something to be proud of. Taber also talked about the crisis of a decade-long enrollment decline and budget cuts, and how K-Staters will “roll up our sleeves and find solutions” in the face of obstacles.

Tabor also praised K-State’s creativity in finding strategic approaches to change various programs. He included the launching of a new business model for enrollment, technology and organizational structures as part of this change. Among the biggest involved a new budget model.

“Advancing these strategic initiatives has required K-State to develop a more transparent, data-informed culture,” Taber said. “I am proud of the role I have played in leading these and many other projects, and we still have much to accomplish in my final semester.”

Taber was born and raised in central Africa until the age of 16, he told The Mercury previously.

He earned a bachelor’s degree from East Tennesee State and a doctorate in political psychology at the University of Illinois.

He came to K-State Stony Brook University, New York, where he was vice provost for graduate and professional education and dean of the Graduate School from 2013 through 2018.

He joined Stony Brook in 1989 as an instructor of political science, earning a promotion to full professor in 2008. He served in many administrative positions at the university, including associate dean for postdoctoral affairs, dean of the School of Professional Development and interim provost and senior vice president for academic affairs.

At Stony Brook, he was involved with graduate enrollment management and addressing budget challenges in higher education.

“In the coming weeks, we will start the process of bringing together a search committee that will lead the charge in finding the next great provost for Kansas State University,” K-State president Richard Linton said.

Officials have put out a survey to get input on the hiring process.

“I anticipate that we will formally stand up the committee in July and conduct interviews in the first half of the fall semester, with the goal to have our new provost in place by early 2024,” Linton said. “We will share more details on the search once the committee selection has been finalized.”