Stetson University has selected Noel Painter, Ph.D., to be the university’s new executive vice president and provost.

“Dr. Painter has done a remarkable job in the interim executive vice president and provost role and has demonstrated his well recognized integrity, intelligence, energy and passion for excellence,” said Stetson President Wendy B. Libby, Ph.D., in making the announcement. Painter has been serving in the interim position since June 2016 when former provost Elizabeth Paul, Ph.D., left the university after seven years to become the president of Capital University in Columbus, Ohio.

Libby said that launching another national search, “would be unlikely to bring us someone more competent or visionary than Dr. Painter,” and that his appointment “puts us firmly on a forward course of excellence.”

“I am exceptionally honored to have the opportunity to represent Stetson University as provost,” said Painter. “Having been part of this great institution for over 17 years, I am confident that we are positioned to be leaders in 21st century education, and that our passionate faculty, staff, student and administrative community will continue to make great strides forward.”

Painter joined the faculty of Stetson University School of Music in 1999, and served as associate dean in the School of Music from 2007-16 when he was asked to step into the interim provost position. He also served as interim dean in the School of Music during much of the 2012-13 academic year. In those roles, he was integrally involved in many university initiatives, committees, and task forces, including work on faculty salary, governance, enrollment and financial aid, student success, accreditation, policy, and curriculum revision.

At the 2015 Sharing Excellence Colloquium, Painter presented his research on Accommodations as an Opportunity for Creativity and Deeper Inclusion for All Students (with Stacy Collins), and at the 2016 Academic Chairpersons Conference he presented Making Decisions That Faculty Support: Healthy Systems for Administrative Collaboration (with Thomas Gilmore Masse, D.M.A.).

In 2009, Painter was awarded the William Hugh McEniry Award for Excellence in Teaching. It is the most prestigious honor given to a Stetson University faculty member at the DeLand campus and represents excellence in classroom teaching, professional growth and competency, intellectual stimulation given to the academic community outside the classroom, and service to students and the university as a whole.

Prior to his arrival at Stetson, Painter taught graduate and undergraduate courses at the Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester. As a result of his commitment to teaching and scholarship, Painter was awarded the Outstanding Graduate Teaching Award, the Sloan Scholarship Award and the Edward Peck Curtis Teaching Award, the highest graduate award available to graduate assistants at any of the University of Rochester’s six campus branches.

Painter received his Ph.D., M.M. in percussion performance, and M.A. in music theory from the Eastman School of Music (University of Rochester), and a B.M. from Furman University.