MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — After a three-decade career at West Virginia University Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Maryanne Reed will retire this October.
Reed will continue to report to the president and wrap up projects related to student retention and land-grant outreach. On October 1, WVU Assistant Provost Paul Kreider will serve as the interim provost while also serving as the interim president at Potomac State College.
Reed said over the last several weeks she has realized it was her time to step aside and spend more time with family.
“I have made wonderful friends and there have been great people that have guided me along the way,” Reed said on MetroNews affiliate WAJR’s “Talk of the Town” Monday. “I’m truly grateful for all the WVU has done for me, but it’s time to start a new chapter.”
Starting as a dean in the Reed College of Media, Reed is credited with helping the unit evolve into the future. She implemented the first Integrated Marketing Communications master��s degree program in the country while working to increase graduate and undergraduate enrollment. In 2016, she led the development of the Media Innovation Center.
“I’m so proud to have built a Media Innovation Center in the Evansdale Crossing Building and I think as Provost I’m most proud of helping the university navigate some trying times,” Reed said.
Reed said the spring of 2020 when pandemic shutdowns were implemented it began an extended period of uncertainty that tested her leadership. Reed said through the work of her team and resources available to the university they were able to navigate the first pandemic in more than 100-years.
“These were challenges that were pretty intense, but I think at the time I just working through them with my team,” Reed said. “As I look back, I think we did good work, there some ups and downs, but I think mostly ups.”
Academic transformation was another major challenge that required a sustained team effort. The decisions made during that 18-month period has a negative impact on many of the people she had with for many years. The period was difficult, but the decisions made then set the stage for future success of the institution.
“The decisions we made, which I firmly believe were in the best interests of the institution, were also painful and impacted people in a negative way,” Reed said. “So, it was tough, but I do feel the university is in a better position to face the future.”
Reed said she plans to be very busy in retirement, catching up with her husband, who has a 13-year head start, and many family members, some of whom she has never met.
“My dear husband Bill, who has been retired for 13 years, is waiting for me patiently,” Reed said. “I have 10 great nieces and nephews, one of whom I have not met yet, and I have a lot of passions outside of work I want to pursue.”