President Mildred García has named Kari Knutson Miller as provost and vice president for academic affairs for a term appointment through June 30, 2020.
Anil Puri, former dean of Mihaylo College of Business and Economics, has been serving in an interim role since July 2016 and will be stepping down at the end of the 2017, “with the hope of empowering a leader who can commit to serving as provost during the two and a half years it will likely take to first, appoint a new permanent president, and then, conduct a national search for a permanent provost,” said García in her Dec. 1 notice to the campus community.
Knutson Miller, currently dean of University Extended Education and associate vice president of international programs and global engagement, will begin her two-and-a-half-year appointment on Jan. 1.
The professor of child and adolescent studies was appointed to her current position in July 2016 but has taught on campus since since 1999. She has served in a number of leadership roles, from department chair and member of the Academic Senate to chairing the Planning, Resources and Budget Committee.
Knutson Miller has been a member of the Academic Master Plan Committee and was an integral member of the 2013-2018 Strategic Plan Steering Committee, and is now co-chair of the strategic planning process for the University’s 2018-2023 strategic plan. She was awarded the Faculty Leadership in Collegial Governance Award in 2013 in recognition of her service to Cal State Fullerton.
As dean of UEE and associate vice president of international programs and global engagement, Knutson Miller oversees numerous program units, including University Semester Abroad, American Language Program, summer session, intersession, study abroad, online programs, summer children’s programs, the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute and the Fullerton Arboretum.
She earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and a doctorate in educational psychology from Arizona State University.