Computer scientist David Kotz ’86 is finishing his term as provost at the end of the 2024-2025 academic year. The Pat and John Rosenwald Professor of Computer Science will continue his research and teaching as a member of the faculty.

The search for Dartmouth’s next provost is underway, with an advisory committee chaired by Brendan Nyhan, the James O. Freedman Presidential Professor and professor of government. Kotz says he looks forward to working with his successor to ensure a smooth transition.

Dartmouth’s provost is the institution’s chief academic and budget officer. Kotz served as interim provost for six months in 2021 and was appointed as provost in January 2022. He led Dartmouth’s response to COVID-19 at the height of the pandemic and previously served as interim provost in 2017-2018.

“I am truly grateful for Dave’s ongoing dedication to the institution. Dartmouth has benefited greatly, as have I, from his steady leadership during the first year of my presidency, and from the empathy, creativity, and collaborative spirit that he unfailingly brings to his work,” says President Sian Leah Beilock, who has appointed an advisory committee and engaged a search firm.

“Being provost at Dartmouth has been an incredible opportunity to connect with all aspects of the Dartmouth experience, to support our incredible colleagues and students, and to shape the future of higher education,” Kotz says. “It has been an honor to serve Dartmouth—to give back to a community that has given me so much over the past 42 years, and to help shape its future.”

Among his accomplishments as provost, Kotz is co-leading the Arts and Sciences Future project, which has proposed an organizational and budgetary model to create “a new school of arts and sciences with unified leadership, increased agency, and the resources to thrive,” he says. The Faculty of Arts and Sciences is scheduled to hold an advisory vote on the proposal on Oct. 30, after which it will go to President Beilock and the Board of Trustees.

In addition, Kotz helped guide the creation of Commitment to Care, Dartmouth’s strategic plan for student mental health and well-being; shepherded the $89 million reimagining of the Hopkins Center for the Arts; worked to balance the interests of both graduate students and faculty during the emergence of the GOLD-UE union; and launched efforts to shape Dartmouth’s strategy on artificial intelligence, climate and sustainability, and global impact.

“Everything I have done and continue to do is a team effort. I am lucky to be supported by the wonderful folks in the provost’s office and by colleagues and working groups around campus,” Kotz says.

Of his service as provost, he says, “I have had the opportunity to meet so many colleagues from all corners of campus and beyond. I’ve learned that most people care deeply about Dartmouth, so even when we disagree, we are all coming at challenges with the best intentions. I’ve always felt—and shared—the love people have for this special place, and this role has allowed me to work alongside so many other people committed to the success of Dartmouth, its students, and its mission. I hope to have made a positive difference.”

Kotz previously served as associate dean of the faculty for the sciences, executive director of Dartmouth’s Institute for Security, Technology, and Society, and core director of Dartmouth’s Center for Technology and Behavioral Health.

He is also lead researcher on a five-year National Science Foundation research program to reduce the security risks related to consumer-based smart technologies.

Kotz’s lifelong commitment to Dartmouth began when he was an undergraduate double major in computer science and physics. Though he briefly left Hanover to complete a PhD at Duke University, he returned to teach in 1991 and has been a member of the faculty ever since. 

“I am proud to be a ‘son of Dartmouth,’ honored to be a member of its community, and look forward to seeing it thrive and grow in the generations ahead,” Kotz says.

An expert on computer security, health-care computing, and wireless networks, Kotz has to date published more than 270 peer-reviewed papers, received $89 million in grant funding, and mentored over 100 research students and postdoctoral fellows. He has received some of the highest professional recognitions in his field, including being named a fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. In 2008, Kotz was a Fulbright Fellow in India, and in 2019 he was a visiting professor at ETH Zürich.

As for his plans for the future, Kotz says, “I’m planning a sabbatical next year, and then I’m looking forward to returning to the classroom. I’ve continued my research and work with students throughout my time as provost, but I miss teaching!”

The search committee is working closely with John Muckle ’99 of the search firm Isaacson Miller. Muckle is co-leader of Isaacson Miller’s higher education and science, technology, and society practice areas and has extensive experience leading high-profile university president and provost searches, most recently for Duke, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, New York University, and Northwestern University, and he has successfully recruited provosts for several institutions that, like Dartmouth, are members of the Association of American Universities, including Carnegie Mellon University, Johns Hopkins University, and the University of Pennsylvania.

In addition to Nyhan, the committee members are:

• Paul Argenti, professor of corporate communication, Tuck School of Business 
• Bala Chaudhary, associate professor of environmental studies 
• Riley Flores, PhD student, Thayer School of Engineering
• R. Scott Frew, chief financial officer
• Odette Harris ’91, trustee 
• Josh Keniston, senior vice president of capital planning and campus operations 
• Lisa Marsch, director of the Dartmouth Center for Technology and Behavioral Health and the Andrew G. Wallace Professor and professor of psychiatry, Geisel School of Medicine 
• Clark Paolini ’25
• Carl Renshaw, professor of earth sciences
• Alice Ruth, chief executive officer, Dartmouth Investment Office 
• Scott Sanders, associate professor of French 
• Jomysha Delgado Stephen, executive vice president for strategy and special counsel to the president
• John Zhang, professor of engineering, Thayer School of Engineering