The administrative system at Stevens consists of different departments and offices working together to run the university. One of these departments is the Office of the Provost. The current Provost is Dr. Jianmin Qu. Provost Qu is “responsible for all academic departments, schools, colleges, and research centers” and “ensures that Stevens maintains the culture and deploys the human and physical infrastructure necessary to achieve its academic mission,” according to the Stevens website. Part of Provost Qu’s staff is the role of Associate Provost. The Associate Provost aids Provost Qu and his office in the school’s academic, financial, and strategic operations. As announced by Provost Qu on January 18, the position of Associate Provost will be held by Stevens’ own Maria ‘Sin’ Ouckama starting on March 1.
Ouckama will be taking over the role of Associate Provost from Dr. Cindy Chin, who was appointed to the new position of Vice President for Enrollment Management by President Farvardin. Ouckama started at Stevens in July 2017 as the Senior Director for Human Resources and Deputy Title IX Coordinator, leading the Division of Human Resources this past summer. Before being here at Stevens, Ouckama held many human resources positions in the public and private sectors, including a stint as a combat medic in the United States Army National Guard from 2006-2012. Ouckama earned a bachelor’s degree in Economics, International Relations, and Policy Studies from Syracuse University, and is currently pursuing an Executive MBA at the Stevens School of Business.
The Stute interviewed Ouckama to learn more about being appointed to such a prestigious position. She said, “I am grateful that the institution valued not just my extensive experience in process efficiencies, project management and strategy formulation prior to joining Stevens, but also my years with Stevens serving our faculty and staff as part of the Division of Human Resources.” When asked what some of her plans as Associate Provost are, she responded that she hopes to continue her work from the Division of Human Resource of “providing efficient processes, a high quality of support to our faculty and staff” and “to affect similar changes more broadly to make a positive impact on our students’ experiences.”
Looking back at her career and work here at Stevens, Ouckama’s experience and expertise across varying work will help her succeed and further Stevens’ great legacy. For more information, please see Provost Qu’s email from January 18.
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