Northeastern Voice

Zoloth steps up to serve Northeastern

Stephen Zoloth

Stephen Zoloth, the longtime dean of Bouvé College of Health Science, said there was only one answer when the president requested he sit as acting provost.

“I was asked by President Aoun to serve the institution in the interim position,” he said, “and I've always said ‘yes’ when the institution has asked.

“And it’s especially exciting to take this role at such a crucial point in the university’s academic momentum, when the Academic Plan and Interdisciplinary Faculty Initiative are being implemented,” he said.

The dean, former professor of community health and longtime academic assumed the post April 1, to succeed Ahmed Abdelal.

This transition, he acknowledged, comes at “a critical time,” in the middle of important ongoing projects, including department-chair searches and a faculty salary-market review. “The university doesn’t stop” because of a provostial transition, he said.

Zoloth hit the ground running this week, moving into the provost’s suite in Richards and meeting with Abdelal to get up to speed on the numerous project, initiatives and issues.

He said that, while he’s sitting in a new office at Northeastern, “It’s not a whole new world for me.

“Certainly, deans have a lot of administrative responsibilities, especially at Northeastern,” he said. And before he came to Northeastern, eight years ago, Zoloth served as the sole associate provost at Hunter College in New York.

“My responsibilities there included the library, all research, all graduate programs, all health sciences programs and education programs,” he said. “It was a pretty broad range of experiences.”

Zoloth, who holds a Ph.D. in biology and an M.P.H. in epidemiology and occupational health and health policy, had served as a professor and dean at Hunter College before becoming associate provost. He joined Northeastern in 2000, and has served recently on the team that helped formulate the Academic Plan, co-chairing the committee on urban and global dimensions of the university’s future.

He is eager to work closely with university deans in refining their plans for the coming academic year.