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Majors & Degrees

Moran named interim provost at DSU

May 20, 2019

Dr. James Moran has been named the interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Dakota State University. He is currently the Vice President for Accreditation and Student Success Initiatives at the University of South Dakota. Previously, he served as the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at USD from 2014-2018. He also held the position of Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs for the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education for nearly a decade.

Moran will fill the position left open by the resignation of DSU’s current Provost Dr. Scott McKay. McKay’s last day as provost will be June 21; Moran will start at the Madison institution on June 22.

Moran has worked in higher education in Oklahoma, Virginia, Tennessee, and Pennsylvania, where he served for nearly 10 years as the Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs for the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education.

Moran has served on state and national advisory boards, such as the Complete College America and the Education Trust’s Access to Success Initiative, the Teacher/Principal Evaluation Project for the State of Pennsylvania, and the Pennsylvania Early Learning Council. He also led the U.S. team on the OECD Assessment of Higher Education Learning Outcomes (AHELO) project funded by the U.S. Department of Education. His list of publications and presentations focus on creativity, original thinking and motivation.

“Having worked with Dr. Moran at the University of Tennessee and now most recently through the South Dakota regental system, I have seen first-hand his ability to successfully lead and guide academic programs,” Griffiths said. “With his experience in academe, his service on education advisory boards, and his work with intellectual property and major grant projects, Dr. Moran is well-suited to assist us as we continue to inspire achievement and create university-wide excellence at Dakota State,” she stated.

Moran holds a bachelor of arts degree in psychology and history from Duke University, a master of science degree in psychology from the University of Oklahoma, and a Ph.D. in family relations and child development from Oklahoma State University.