Evangel University makes second provost change in last year

Evangel University appointed Science and Technology Department Chairman Mike McCorcle interim provost and vice president for academic affairs less than a year after a national search landed Tilahun Adera.

Adera, who came to Evangel from New Mexico State University, accepted a research fellowship but will continue to serve as a special adviser to Evangel President Carol Taylor.

Evangel spokesman Paul Logsdon said faculty and staff were informed of the president and her cabinet’s decision May 22. Logsdon did not know details about Adera’s fellowship.

McCorcle’s new role is effective July 1, according to a news release. The university does not have a timeline for selecting a permanent provost.

McCorcle joined Evangel’s faculty in 1996 and previously worked at Iowa State University and as a senior research scientist with McLean, Va.-based Science Applications International Corp.

Logsdon said McCorcle is a Parkview High School graduate and attended Evangel for two years before transferring to the University of California-Davis, where he obtained a bachelor’s in atmospheric science. He later earned a master’s and doctorate in meteorology at the University of Utah. McCorcle was the 2007 recipient of Evangel’s highest faculty honor, the E.M. and Estella Clark Award for Excellence in Teaching.