Lois Agnew’s provost term officially extended, interim title dropped
Lois Agnew’s time as provost is officially extended until late 2026, Syracuse University Chancellor Kent Syverud announced Wednesday. Syverud previously proposed she remain provost until a new chancellor is selected. Ike Wood | Asst. Photo Editor
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UPDATE: This post was updated at 1:08 a.m. on Sept. 18, 2025.
Lois Agnew’s time as provost is officially extended until late 2026, Syracuse University Chancellor Kent Syverud announced Wednesday.
As the Board of Trustees continues its search for Syverud’s successor, the board will look for Agnew’s replacement “most likely later in 2026,” Syverud wrote in a campus-wide email.
The term “interim” was also removed from Agnew’s title, now making her vice chancellor and provost.
“I did conclude that it’s in the university’s best interest to remove the word ‘interim’ from her title and to extend her service as provost through December 2026, or at most June of 2027 at the discretion of my successor,” Syverud said at Wednesday’s University Senate meeting.
On Sept. 2, Syverud proposed that Agnew remain in her position until the next chancellor can have a say in her successor. Syverud wrote that he received many “overwhelmingly positive” responses to his proposal.
“I am certain that under her continued guidance, the University will remain well-positioned to achieve its goals and meet the opportunities ahead,” Syverud wrote in his email.
He also wrote that he received a “very small” number of worried messages about the shared governance in the process of extending Agnew’s position.
“I recognize, however, that some face very valid concerns about precedent and process in this. I want to underscore that this is an exceptional circumstance tied directly to the timing of my own transition,” Syverud told the senate. “The next provost search will fully follow our shared government practices.”
In ordinary circumstances, SU selects a provost with a committee, as it is doing for Syverud’s successor search, he said in a Sept. 2 statement. That committee would work in consultation with the senate, which has been removed from the process on this occasion.
Syverud called this a “rare situation” in the campus-wide email.
“This allows the next chancellor to participate in the selection of a long-term provost this coming year,” he said at the senate meeting. “The feedback was overwhelmingly supportive of this course of action.”
Syverud announced on Aug. 26 that he would step down from his position as chancellor at the end of the academic year.
“In the meantime, I’m really confident that Lois Agnew will continue to guide our academic mission with the integrity and dedication she’s demonstrated so far,” he said at the meeting.
