William McClure
Provost and Vice President, Academic Affairs
Provost and Vice President, Academic Affairs
William McClure, Ph.D., was appointed provost and vice president for academic affairs effective July 6, 2023.
In this role, McClure is responsible for the planning, development, growth and quality of all academic programs and related support functions. The provost is also the chief personnel officer for academic employees and is responsible for hiring and evaluating faculty and ensuring, together with the faculty, that the New Paltz curriculum is relevant, timely and adequately supported.
His duties include the articulation of an academic vision, leadership in academic strategic planning that supports the institutional strategic plan, the development and administration of academic budgets and the advancement of excellence in teaching, scholarship and service.
As provost, McClure directly oversees the five academic schools – Business, Education, Fine & Performing Arts, Liberal Arts & Sciences, and Science & Engineering – as well as the Sojourner Truth Library; Graduate, Professional, & Interdisciplinary Studies; Continuing & Online Education; the Benjamin Center; and the Honors Program. He is also responsible for the Center for International Programs; the Institute for Disaster Mental Health; the Faculty Development Center; Sponsored Programs; Research, Scholarship & Creative Activities; and the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art.
McClure brings three decades of higher education experience as a teacher, scholar and administrator to this role. He served most recently as Dean of Faculty in the School of Arts and Humanities at Queens College, where he also held concurrent roles as special assistant to the provost for international affairs (2015-2021) and as interim associate provost (2017-2018). Prior to his time at Queens, McClure held academic appointments at Nanzan University, Nagoya, Japan; Palacký University, Olomouc, Czech Republic; University of Durham, England; and Cornell University.
A widely recognized expert in Japanese language and linguistics, Mcclure is the author of five books and numerous peer-reviewed chapters, papers and articles. He holds a Ph.D. in Linguistics and an MA in Linguistics/Cognitive Psychology, both from Cornell University.
