Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Daniel Fogel accepted an offer Monday to become the next president at the University of Vermont.
Last weekend, Fogel traveled to Burlington, Vt., to visit the campus and meet with the Board of Trustees, which made the final decision among four equally-qualified candidates.
“I am very pleased and deeply honored to accept this position,” Fogel said. “I feel happiness mixed with sadness about leaving LSU.”
The University of Vermont started a search in early May for a candidate to replace current interim president Edwin Colodny.
“We are simply delighted,” said Board of Trustees Chairman Bruce Lisman in a written statement. “He is the right person to assume leadership of UVM. He has had a long career as an academic and emerged as an important scholar.”
A press release from the University of Vermont said Fogel is expected to assume his new position July 1.
“I have a huge debt of thanks to the many people that I have had the privilege of working with,” Fogel said.
He added after the many years of working with the faculty and staff, it is hard to leave.
Fogel said making the transition from executive vice chancellor and provost of LSU to interim president of UVM will be difficult because both institutions and positions require different efforts.
“While some portion of the time I spend here is on external affairs, most of the time I work on internal relations,” Fogel said. “I think at the University of Vermont it will be reversed. There are some issues that require the president to work within the University, but the bulk of my effort will be on external relations.”
Returning to the Northeast where he grew up, Fogel and his wife Rachel are delighted to relocate. However, he said he will miss the relationships he has made with the students and his colleagues.
“And I surely will miss Saturday nights in Tiger Stadium,” he said. “How could you not miss that amount of excitement?”
While UVM does not have a football team, the school does have men’s and women’s hockey teams that are heavily supported.
Fogel is expected to visit UVM again on Wednesday to be formally introduced to the campus and participate in a welcoming event, Lisman said.
Fogel has had a long career at LSU, spanning more than 25 years.
According to his curriculum vitae, Fogel became a professor in the English Department in 1976 and through the years, moved into higher positions.
Assuming the position of vice chancellor and provost in 1997, Fogel has helped to improve the University with many achievements, including allocating about $20 million in funds toward priority programs.
“He has proven to be a strong leader, capable of analyzing situations, developing a consensus for direction, making decisions and implementing those decisions,” Lisman said.
Student Government President Patrick McCune, who has worked closely with Fogel during the last year, said it will be hard to fill his position.
“We have to realize that he won’t be leaving until June,” McCune said. “So he is still influential in his position.”
McCune and Fogel worked together with SG to create “How To Do LSU 101”, as well as instigate the ticket exchange online.
“Fogel has been here for a very long time and has made lots of marks on LSU,” McCune said.