The Office of the Provost and Dean of the Faculty serves as head of the academic program. It is responsible for overseeing the faculty, curriculum, academic support, academic program budgets, grants and faculty development, institutional governance, and accreditation processes. The dean of the faculty serves as the chief academic officer and, as provost, this individual represents the college in the event of the president’s absence. At the beginning of Whitman College's history, the administrative duties that the provost and dean of the faculty are responsible for were overseen by individuals appointed to the position of the dean of the college. In 1907, President Penrose appointed Archer W. Hendrick as dean of the college. Before becoming dean of the college, Hendrick was an assistant English professor hired in 1902. Hendrick resigned from the dean position in 1911. President Penrose then instituted a three-dean system (one for each division) and each dean was responsible for separate administrative duties. In 1934, President Clemen reinstated the dean of the college position and appointed Walter A. Bratton, a professor of mathematics who came to Whitman in 1895, to the role. Bratton’s responsibilities included educational and faculty administration. He was promoted to acting president in 1936 while also serving as dean of the college for one more year until 1937. Under Bratton’s presidency, the dean of the college duties were once again divided up between a group of divisional deans, the dean of the men, and the dean of the women. President Maxey established the dean of the faculty position in 1934 and appointed Frank L. Haigh, a chemistry professor, to the position. From 1934 to 1967, four individuals served as dean of the faculty. The title dean of the college briefly appeared from 1967-1971 filled by Kenyon A. Knopf. In 1971, Knopf became dean of the faculty, and in the same year President Sheehan appointed him to the newly created position of provost. Knopf held both dean of the faculty and provost positions until 1977, when Roy Hoover became the acting dean of the faculty. From 1977 to 1980, Knopf served as provost only. President Skotheim eliminated the position of provost, and it wasn’t until 2007 when the provost position was reinstated. President Bridges added the provost title and responsibilites to the position of dean of the faculty. Lori Bettison-Varga was the first to serve in this joint role beginning in 2007, and her successors have held the one position of provost and dean of the faculty. Chronology of the Position: Archer W. Hendrick, Dean of the College (1907-1911) Walter A. Bratton, Dean of the College (1934-1937) Frank Loyal Haigh, Dean of the Faculty (1948-1951) Charles Johnston Armstrong, Dean of the Faculty (1952-1953) Paul J. Jackson, Dean of the Faculty (1954-1963) Fredric F. Santler, Dean of the Faculty (1964-1967) Kenyon A. Knopf, Dean of the College (1967-1971) Kenyon A. Knopf, Provost and Dean of the Faculty (1971-1977) Kenyon A. Knopf, Provost (1977-1980) Roy Hoover, Acting Dean of the Faculty (1977-1979) Edward Foster, Dean of the Faculty (1979-1988) David Deal, Acting Dean of the Faculty (1988-1989) David Deal, Dean of the Faculty (1989-1995) Patrick Keef, Dean of the Faculty (1995-2006) Timothy Kaufman-Osborn, Acting Dean of the Faculty (2006-2007) Lori Bettison-Varga, Provost and Dean of the Faculty (2007-2009) Timothy Kaufman-Osborn, Provost and Dean of the Faculty (2009-2014) Patrick Spencer, Acting Provost and Dean of the Faculty (2014-2016) Alzada Tipton, Provost and Dean of the Faculty (2016-)