Schneider named interim provost, will serve through summer

Dr. Eric Schneider, vice provost for institutional effectiveness, has been named interim provost. He will serve in the position through the summer, with a permanent placement named ideally before the start of the fall 2024 semester.

The current provost, Dr. Jeff Frederick, is leaving at the end of the semester after nearly four years at Wingate to become president of Drury University in Springfield, Mo. His replacement will be chosen by President Rhett Brown with input and advice from a committee consisting of members of the Executive Leadership Team, the Faculty Senate and the Board of Trustees. Internal and external candidates will be considered.

Schneider arrived at Wingate University in July 2015, joining the School of Pharmacy as assistant dean for academics. He assumed the position of vice provost for health sciences in June 2018 and transitioned to vice provost for institutional effectiveness in November 2019.

"Dr. Schneider brings deep and broad knowledge to the role because of his various positions at the University," Brown said. "He is a faculty-first, practical leader who has a unique perspective on the top academic position because of his proximity to Dr. Frederick for the past several years. I am confident Dr. Schneider will lead in a way that allows for a smooth transition. These circumstances present us with an opportunity to take the summer to reimagine the Office of the Provost and how it can be most effective for the University."

Frederick serves as the University's chief academic officer, successfully coordinating Wingate's undergraduate and graduate academic enterprises, including all academic colleges, schools and programs. In addition to the multifaceted academic disciplines he has led, Frederick has provided direction and oversight to accreditation compliance, institutional effectiveness and assessment, student engagement and advising, the Office of the Registrar, and the library.

During his tenure, Frederick has implemented several initiatives that have borne fruit for students and faculty, including a pair of inter-semester class sessions (Winter Term and Maymester), and has overseen the addition of four new majors and solidified clinical rotations within our area's leading hospital. Frederick has also emphasized transparency, writing a lengthy email communication to faculty and staff every week, holding regular "parking lot with the provost" sessions and even hosting "Wilson and Main," a podcast highlighting issues of the day from a Wingate perspective.

Schneider received a bachelor of science degree in pharmacy from the Saint Louis College of Pharmacy in 1987. He received a doctor of pharmacy degree from the Medical University of South Carolina in 1990 and completed a clinical pharmacy residency in family medicine in 1991.

Before arriving at Wingate University, Schneider served on the faculty of several family-medicine residency programs and taught in colleges of pharmacy, medicine and nursing.

April 22, 2024