UW provost resigns

A Monday afternoon email to the campus community announced Provost Kevin Carman's abrupt resignation.

Old Main at the University of Wyoming. // Photo: Tony Webster

Kevin Carman has resigned from his post as provost and executive vice president for the University of Wyoming. He has served as UW’s chief academic officer since 2021.

“President [Ed] Seidel informed me last Friday that he needs to make a change in the Provost position,” Carman writes in an email to fellow employees of the university Monday afternoon. “I respect his decision and will end my appointment at the close of business today.”

Carman writes it was “an honor and a privilege” to serve in the role.

“We have faced many challenges and done many good things,” he writes. “I am particularly pleased with the good work we have done to promote student success.”

Carman’s resignation was announced less than an hour before his own email to colleagues. That original announcement does not include a quote from the resigning administrator but does include a statement from President Seidel.

“Provost Carman has helped lead our university through a period of change and has played a key role in positioning us for success in the future,” Seidel says. “I deeply appreciate his many contributions and will miss his collegial counsel.”

The original announcement also touts the achievements from Carman’s tenure.

“During his time at UW, he directed the development and successful implementation of the Saddle Up onboarding program for new students, which has helped boost UW’s freshman-to-sophomore retention rate from about 75 percent to 79 percent,” the announcement states. “He has overseen an update of UW’s University Studies Program, which is nearing completion. And he directed UW’s successful application to achieve the Carnegie Elective Classification for Community Engagement.”

A biologist by training, Carman maintained a professorship in UW’s Zoology and Physiology Department and will continue as a faculty member.

UW will likely go without a permanent replacement for the provost position until next year. The original announcement calls for UW deans and vice provosts to apply for the interim provost position by Friday.

“Interested leaders should submit a CV, a statement of interest in the interim position and a description of how their primary areas of responsibility will be covered during the transition,” the email states. “The president will make his recommendation of interim provost to the UW Board of Trustees at its October meeting. A national search will launch later this semester, and the next provost and executive vice president is expected to be in place by fall 2025.”