Indiana University Northwest has announced the selection of Mark McPhail, Ph.D., as the Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs. McPhail, who previously served as the Dean of the College of Arts and Communication at the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater, joined the campus on August 1, 2015.
McPhail, who has more than 15 years of administrative experience in higher education and is an accomplished scholar in the field of communication, will lead the Office of Academic Affairs.
He will exercise broad responsibilities for all aspects of the academic and student dimensions of the campus in coordination with the Chancellor and other university leaders. In his role, McPhail will serve as an active and substantive contributor to the strategic direction of academic programs, continuous strengthening of academic excellence and effective day-to-day operation of the IU Northwest campus, as well as the advancement of Indiana University.
“McPhail is an accomplished, well-published scholar in the field of communication, with a well-established record of administrative leadership and collaborative and interdisciplinary scholarship,” IU Northwest Chancellor William J. Lowe said. “Given the range and depth of his experience and strong commitment to academic service, Dr. McPhail will be a terrific asset and addition to our campus. I welcome him to IU Northwest and to the campus’s senior leadership team.”
“I am honored to have been selected to serve as the Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at Indiana University Northwest,” McPhail said. “IU Northwest's commitments to diversity, access, community engagement, and academic excellence are very much in line with my own personal and professional values, and throughout the interviewing process I felt a very strong sense of connection and alignment with all of the students, staff and faculty I encountered. I'm very excited about joining Chancellor Lowe's leadership team and becoming a member of the Indiana University Northwest family. In every way it feels like a perfect match.”
Prior to his role at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, McPhail served as Chair for the Division of Corporate Communications and Public Affairs at Southern Methodist University; Chair of the Department of Communication at Miami University of Ohio; and Acting Chair of the Department of Communication at the University of Utah. He also taught at Wayne State University, the University of Michigan, and Emerson College.
He earned his Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Massachusetts in Rhetoric and Public Address, Master of Arts from Northwestern University in Performance Studies, and Bachelor of Science from Emerson College in Speech.
About Indiana University Northwest
As one of seven Indiana University campuses, IU Northwest leads the region as the premier, urban campus dedicated to serving the needs of more than 6,000 students from the state’s most diverse and industrialized region. Committed to helping its local Northwest Indiana communities thrive, IU Northwest is best-known for providing a personal, quality and affordable education close to home. IU Northwest positions its students to be leaders with more than 70 undergraduate, graduate and pre-professional degree options available from the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Health and Human Services, the School of Business and Economics, and the School of Education. The campus is also host to IU School of Medicine-Northwest, which actively involves students in research and local healthcare needs through its four-year medical doctorate program. For more information, please visit www.iun.edu.