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When Ravi Krovi became Weber State’s new provost on March 1, 2020, he presented President Brad Mortensen with his 90-day plan, “which went out the window in the first week,” he said.

While the university’s urgent response to the COVID-19 pandemic changed his plans, Krovi said it also provided an intense crash course on the university’s people and processes. The strengths that attracted him to Weber State were on constant display during the crisis, particularly when it came to student focus, collegiality, shared governance and fiscal stability.

With a Ph.D. in Management Information Systems & Decision Sciences from The University of Memphis, and nearly 20 years of teaching and leadership experience at the University of Akron, Krovi said a tumultuous greeting did not change his guiding principles.

As vice president for Academic Affairs, the provost is responsible for ensuring quality and excellence in the school’s curriculum. The provost oversees seven colleges, Stewart Library and Enrollment Services, and supports student success initiatives that keep students enrolled and progressing toward graduation.

Krovi knows the disruption of COVID-19 will continue to test the university’s educational mission of attracting and graduating students. He said it will require a unified, visionary effort.

“We have to have a clarity of vision, and that’s going to be very, very important,” Krovi said. “We cannot be everything to all people because the market is becoming very fragmented. We have to know who we are and what the community needs, and we have to anticipate and respond before others do.”