Longtime figure on UMCP campus is named provost

William W. Destler, a member of the faculty and administration at the University of Maryland, College Park for almost three decades, was named the school's provost yesterday by its president, C. D. "Dan" Mote Jr.

The vice president for research and dean of the graduate school, Destler will take over as the school's chief academic officer and second-in-command on July 1, when the current provost, Gregory Geoffroy, leaves to take over as president of Iowa State University.

Destler began his career at UMCP in 1973 in the electrical engineering department, which he headed for 10 years before being named dean of the engineering school in 1994. When Mote arrived in 1999, Destler served as interim vice president for university advancement for six months.