Steven L. Hoch
PULLMAN — Steven L. Hoch, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Kentucky, has been selected as WSU’s new provost and executive vice president.
Hoch (Hawk) succeeds Robert Bates, who announced in January that he would be stepping down after six years as provost on July 1.
Hoch was identified by an 18-member search committee, chaired by Warwick Bayly, dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine. Hoch visited the Pullman campus earlier this month as one of four finalists for the position.
“This selection is outstanding news,” said Washington State University President Elson S. Floyd. “In Dr. Hoch, the search committee has found an academic leader with an excellent mix of experience as a scholar, a teacher and an administrator at major research universities. He also offers international experience and perspective that will be a great asset to WSU.”
“I am honored to be joining the WSU community and look forward to working with President Floyd, the academic deans, and the entire WSU faculty, staff and student body. Washington State University is one of the nation’s top land-grant institutions, and I hope to build on the institution’s strong tradition of excellence in research, teaching and service,” Hoch said.
“The search committee was extremely impressed by the breadth of Dr. Hoch’s academic background and experience. We were very pleased with the quality of the candidates who interviewed, and are delighted that President Floyd was able move so quickly to secure the services of Dr. Hoch,” said Bayly.
Hoch earned his bachelor’s degree in history from Trinity College in Connecticut and his master’s and doctoral degrees in history from Princeton. He also studied at L’École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales in Paris and at Moscow State University. He was a lecturer in history at Trinity, an assistant and associate professor of history at Drew (NJ) University and an assistant, associate and full professor of history at the University of Iowa.
Hoch’s research focuses on modern Russian history, European agrarian history and historical demography. He has written two books and a number of articles on Russian history and the nation’s socioeconomic conditions. While at the University of Iowa, he received an $825,000 U.S. Department of Education grant to establish a National Resource Center in Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies.
He served as associate provost for academic programs and dean of international programs at the University of Iowa before assuming the deanship at the University of Kentucky in 2003. At Kentucky, he oversees a college with a $75 million budget, 16 academic departments and 14 programs, 350 tenured and tenure-track faculty and 5,900 graduate and undergraduate students.
Hoch’s official starting date will be Aug. 1. He said he plans to visit campus in the next few weeks.
Hoch met his wife, Eeva, while undertaking research in Finland. They have two sons, Nathaniel, a sophomore at Grinnell College in Iowa, and Andrew, a high school senior in Lexington, Ky.
