LSSU Names Lynn Gillette As Next Provost

Lake Superior State University has named Lynn G. Gillette as its next provost, effective July 1. Gillette assumes the post from David Roland Finley, who has served as interim for the past two years.

“Dr. Gillette received very high ratings and several laudatory comments from faculty, staff, and students during the survey process,” said LSSU President Peter Mitchell. “He brings a depth and breadth of experience, a national reputation in improving teaching and learning, a deep commitment to retaining and graduating students, and a long history of advocating for faculty.”

Gillette comes to LSSU from Nicholls State University, a public university with an enrolment of 6,400 students located in Thibodaux, La., and part of the University of Louisiana System of universities. Since 2015 he has served as provost and vice president for academic affairs as well as special assistant to the president.

While at Nicholls, Gillette added three new academic programs, expanded the Nursing program by 33%, and reallocated resources to expand online programs and enrollment. He secured a $1.2 million grant to serve first generation and low-income students, and $7.3 million in external funding for faculty development and academic programs. He also oversaw the highest first-year retention rate in the university’s history.

From 2008-14, Gillette was provost, executive vice president, and eventually president of Sierra Nevada College, a private liberal arts college in Incline, Nev. While there, he introduced more than a dozen new programs, gained reaffirmation of accreditation for the college, and increased undergraduate enrollment each year.

Before that, Gillette taught graduate-level management courses at Tulane University’s Freeman School of Business as an adjunct instructor from 2004 to 2013. He has served in the administrations of many higher education institutions, including tenures as area chair in economics and statistics at the University of Phoenix and vice president for business, administration and compliance at Spalding University.

Gillette holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Richmond and a doctorate in economics from Texas A&M University. He is also a graduate of Harvard University’s Management Development Program.

Gillette, a native of Virginia, is married to Shannon Morse. They have two daughters: Jacquelyn, who holds a doctorate in accounting from the University of Rochester; and Danielle, a recent graduate in chemical engineering from the University of Missouri.