Provost welcomes new Faculty Fellow Patricia Price

Douglas Wartzok, FIU’s provost and executive vice president, recently hosted a small get-together in his office to welcome longtime faculty member Patricia Price as the next faculty fellow in the Office of the Provost.

Outgoing faculty fellow John Stuart (right) and Provost Douglas Wartzok welcomed Patricia Price with a ceremonial passing of the metaphorical big shoes on July 21. Price is only the third person to fill the faculty fellow position in the Office of the Provost.

Price, an associate professor of geography in the Department of Global and Sociocultural Studies, will serve in this position for two years beginning on Aug. 15.

She replaces professor John Stuart, the most recent faculty fellow, who is returning to the Department of Architecture as its new chair.

Fifteen years into her time at FIU, Price is looking forward to her new role.

“I’m really excited – I have big shoes to fill. Bruce Hauptli was the first fellow, John Stuart was the second,” the geographer said. “I’ll be a liaison between the faculty at large and the provost’s office in order to make sure the lines of communication are flowing well back and forth.

“The most appealing part of this position was the ability to interact closely with the provost and his team – I’m really interested in someday becoming a provost. So I’m flattered and honored to be here and to be able to learn.”

There are special projects involved with Price’s fellowship as well, such as serving as liaison between the provost’s office and the Chairs Advisory Council and as the chairs’ ombudsperson.

Price also will chair the Textbook Affordability Committee and serve on the Sabbatical Committee and the Tobacco & Smoke Free Taskforce.