Tamera Jahnke, who started at Missouri State in the mid-1980s, will serve as the university’s interim provost starting on Dec. 21. She will remain in the role until a permanent replacement begins.
Jahnke has been the dean of the College of Natural and Applied Sciences since 2006.
She is stepping into the provost role, on an interim basis, after John Jaskinski — who planned to retire June 30 — opted to leave campus Dec. 20. After that, he will use accrued leave until his new retirement date of Feb. 1.
Tamera Jahnke, dean of the College of Natural and Applied Sciences at Missouri State University spoke at a ground breaking for the expansion to Roy Blunt Hall, formerly known as Temple Hall, on Friday, Dec. 16, 2022.
“I am deeply honored to accept the role of interim provost and am committed to serving Missouri State University with humility, integrity and dedication,” Jahnke said in a news release.
MSU President Richard “Biff” Williams referenced Jasinski, provost since mid-2022, and Jahnke in announcing the move Wednesday.
“Dr. Jasinski has made lasting contributions to Missouri State University during his tenure as provost, particularly in unifying our academic affairs initiatives,” Williams said in a statement.
“While we will miss his leadership, we are fortunate to have Dr. Tamera Jahnke step into this crucial role. Her service to our university and extensive leadership experience make her exceptionally qualified to guide our academic affairs forward during this transition period.”
The search for a permanent replacement will continue. More than 60 people have applied for the job.
A search committee led by Brad Bodenhausen and Marjorie Shavers is expected to select semifinalists this month and will conduct first-round interviews in January. Finalists will be on campus in February.
More: John Jasinski retiring as Missouri State provost months earlier than expected
An organic chemist, Jahnke’s research interests have been in lipid peroxidation products, antiviral drug synthesis and spectroscopic analysis of organic molecules. She has a bachelor’s and a doctoral degree in chemistry from the University of Iowa.
A member of the chemistry faculty since 1986, she served as department head of chemistry for nine years and as acting associate provost for one year.
Jorge Rebaza-Vasquez
Jorge Rebaza-Vasquez will serve as interim dean of the College of Natural and Applied Sciences while Jahnke serves as interim provost.
He has been associate dean since 2021. He was hired as an assistant professor in mathematics in 2022.
Rebaza-Vasquez teaches numerical analysis and applied mathematics at Missouri State. Recent research interests range from showing how the brain processes language to exploring a way to predict the spread of waterborne diseases.
He has a master’s degree from the University of Kaiserslauterm in Germany and a doctorate from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Tamera Jahnke named interim Missouri State provost amid search