Dr. Antony Norman named MSU provost

Morehead State University has announced that Dr. Antony Norman, dean of the Ernst and Sara Lane Volgenau College of Education, will transition into the role of provost and vice president for academic affairs.   

As dean of the Volgenau College of Education, Norman led the college to partner with the National Rural Education Association and the Rural Schools Collaborative (RSC). Through this collaboration, MSU serves as an RSC Appalachian Hub (for the region of Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia and North Carolina) to assist rural schools and teachers. The newly formed Appalachian Rural Education – MSU Hub Council in the Volgenau College will also help emphasize advocacy, education, connection and awareness related to rural education issues. During his tenure, MSU’s College of Education undergraduate, graduate-level and doctorate programs earned national rankings. He consistently promoted MSU’s core mission by preparing its graduates to succeed and do their part to help students and schools in Eastern Kentucky and beyond flourish.  

Before serving as dean of the Volgenau College, Norman spent 24 years as an administrator and faculty member at Western Kentucky University (WKU), holding the position of associate dean for retention, persistence, and degree completion, and interim director of the School of Professional Studies in the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences before coming to MSU. His WKU administrative experiences include serving as director of the Educational Leadership Doctoral Program, interim chair for the Department of Educational Administration, Leadership and Research, and associate dean for accountability and research in the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences. He began his administrative career as assistant dean for assessment and accountability in the College of Education and Human Services at Longwood University in Virginia.   

Before entering administration, Norman moved through the faculty ranks in WKU’s Department of Psychology, where he held tenure as a full professor. During his time as faculty, he also accepted responsibilities as assistant to the dean for assessment and volunteered as assessment coordinator in the U.S. Department of Education Teacher Quality grant, leading to the development of the Teacher Work Sample process adopted by many educator preparation programs across the country.   

Through collaborative relationships with colleagues, Norman has published over 30 articles and technical reports, conducted nearly 80 national presentations, served as external evaluator for five U.S. Department of Education funded grants, and served on numerous state and national professional boards and committees. Norman also recently completed a year as an American Council on Education (ACE) Fellow (Class of 2018).    

Norman’s start date is July 1, 2021.