noun
provost
PROH-vohst/ˈprəʊvəʊst/
A senior official governing an institution or community.
The provost meets with faculty leaders to discuss academic priorities.
Etymology
Someone “placed before” others was someone put in charge—a chief or prefect. That leadership sense connects the older title to a senior official overseeing a college or university.
In context
Masters in comparative and international Disability Policy offered by American University the School of International Service in Washington DC and I have with me here miss Violetta edel the vice Provost for academic administration at American University
More examples
- Students ask the provost to expand the university's tutoring program.
- The two provosts compare their colleges' graduation requirements.
- In Scotland, the provost welcomes guests to the town's civic ceremony.
Forms
provost · provosts
Similar words
- administrator
- Covers a wider range of managerial roles, including junior ones.
- dean
- Usually leads one school or faculty, not the entire institution.
- mayor
- Heads a city or town rather than an academic institution.