The Office of the Provost provides institutional support for the development, review, and implementation of academic policies and educational initiatives that advance enhancements in learning and teaching experiences.
In particular, the scope of the Office’s efforts encompasses:
Advancement of the university-wide approaches to improving the quality of education delivery;
Provision of institutional oversight to enhance the overall quality of instruction, curriculum design, and program management;
Support of academic professionals in applying innovations in teaching and learning;
Support of institutional planning and effectiveness through institutional research;
Promotion of technology-enhanced learning processes across the university;
Coordination of external institutional review processes.
Senior Leadership
Loretta O’Donnell
The Vice-Provost for Academic Affairs
The vice-provost for academic affairs assists the provost in carrying out his responsibilities for academic matters (academic planning, learning and teaching, integrating research into teaching). Doctor Loretta O’Donnell was appointed to this post
in August 2013. She presents on Eurasian higher education themes at international conferences including: ASEF (Asian European Foundation) Rectors’ Conference; Eurasian Higher Education Leaders’ Forum; Times Higher Education Asian Universities Summit and University Alliance of the Silk Road and the NU Annual Gender Forum. She has more than twenty years of experience in teaching Executive MBA, postgraduate and undergraduate business students in the Australian School of Business, University of New South Wales (UNSW) located in Sydney, Australia. As an elected faculty member of the UNSW Academic Board, and as Associate Dean of Education, she combined academic policy development and implementation with her teaching, learning and research interests. She was program director for the UNSW AGSM Graduate Certificate in Change Management and for the Masters of Commerce program. Dr. O’Donnell has won awards for her teaching and for research on human capital analysis in financial markets. Previously, she consulted in organizational change for a large global firm in Sydney and Chicago and in a boutique firm specializing in developing management systems to sustain change. Her academic qualifications include PhD in Management (Macquarie Graduate School of Management); MBA (AGSM, UNSW), Graduate Diploma in Education and Bachelor of Arts (Honours) (N’cle).
Chester Jablonski
Vice Provost for Research
Dr. Chester Jablonski is an experienced academic administrator in graduate education. He was appointed as dean of Graduate Studies at Memorial University in St. John’s Newfoundland Canada in 1997, dean of Graduate Studies at Zayed University in the
United Arab Emirates in 2008, and associate provost of Graduate Studies at NU in 2018.
In his current role as Vice provost for research, Dr. Jablonski assists the provost in providing a supportive and nurturing culture that ensures excellence, integrity, and compliance for all aspects of the research enterprise. Dr. Jablonski was appointed to this post in January 2022. His international experience in higher education includes service as chair of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Postgraduate Scholarship Committee for Physical Sciences, secretary of the executive of the Canadian Association of Graduate Studies (CAGS), and a Canadian representative for the Northeastern Association of Graduate Schools (NAGS). He has been an active contributor to graduate education as dean of Graduate Studies at Memorial University, Zayed University, and NU. He currently serves on the board of directors of Abai Kazakh National Pedagogical University and Kazakh National Women's Teacher Training University. He is professionally recognized as a fellow of the Canadian Chemistry Society for his research in transition metal chiral catalysis.
Luis Ramón Rojas-Solórzano
Associate Provost for Graduate Studies
Doctor Luis Ramón Rojas-Solórzano is a visionary, strategic, and proactive academic leader who has built a successful career in higher education for more than 30 years. He got his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering in 1997 at Carnegie Mellon
University, USA.
He started his academic career in 1988 after a three-year stint in the industry. He got his bachelor's in mechanical engineering and MSc in hydraulics engineering at the Universidad Simón Bolívar, Venezuela (1985, 1991), which was the place where he grew his first 25 years in academia, retiring as a tenured, full professor in 2013.
Doctor Rojas-Solórzano has been a visiting professor and scientist in the USA (Carnegie Mellon University, Phillips-Respironics, DRESSER-RAND), France (IMT-Atlantique, Nantes), Spain (UPC), Portugal (UNL-NSCT), and Peru (PUCP).
After joining NU in 2013, Doctor Rojas-Solórzano has served as head of Graduate Programs, and most recently, director of Graduate Studies in SEDS, successfully applying the NU graduate framework to masters and doctoral programs.
Doctor Rojas-Solórzano is an experienced academic who practices a student-centered educational approach and respects the multiple and varied perspectives of his peer faculty, staff, students, and the community he has served. He believes that influential educational leaders of today appreciate diversity as a valuable resource to strengthen inclusion and enhance excellence in higher education.
The associate provost of Graduate Studies oversees academic and administrative support to ensure a high-quality educational experience for all NU masters and doctoral students and postdoctoral scholars. Dr. Rojas was appointed to this post in January 2022.
In September 2022, he received the inaugural "NASA POWER/RETScreen Excellence Award, Category: Educators and Researchers," recognizing his achievements in research-integrated teaching of clean energy technologies.
Zhumabay Bakenov
Vice Provost for Industry Engagement
Professor Zhumabay Bakenov is an internationally-recognized scientist in the field of advanced materials science, energy conversion and storage systems.
Professor Zhumabay Bakenov joined NU in 2011 as a founding faculty member for the School of
Engineering. Prior to his appointment at NU, Professor Zhumabay Bakenov worked at the University of Waterloo (UW, Canada) and Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech, Japan). He received his specialist (MSc) degree in chemistry from the Al-Farabi Kazakh National University (Al-Farabi University, 1991), PhD in chemistry from Kazakh National Academy of Science (1994), and Doctor of Engineering in chemical engineering from TokyoTech (2007). He started his university career at the Al-Farabi University as a laboratory technician and a department assistant in 1991. He was later promoted to lecturer, and after receiving his PhD degree to assistant and associate professor positions. From 1999, he joined Tokyo Tech as a visiting researcher and professor at the Departments of Applied Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, and in 2010 moved to the University of Waterloo. At the same time, he served as a professor at the Kazakh-British Technical University. Since joining NU in 2011, Prof. Bakenov established successful international collaboration and founded the largest international research group at NU – Functional Nanomaterials and Advanced Energy Storage Systems (Battery Research Group), which has grown into an internationally-recognized research center through excellent contribution to the development of advanced materials and systems for various applications: batteries, fuel cells, catalysis, sensors, hydrogen energy, microbatteries, microelectronics, etc. Prof. Bakenov has successfully supervised three state programs of targeted programs and served as a PI of a large number of interdisciplinary research projects funded by the government, international and local funds and industries. During this period, a lot of students and researchers from NU and other Kazakhstani and international universities had an excellent experience of working at and establishing the Battery Group. Many of them successfully continued their career in Kazakhstan and abroad, becoming international-level professionals in science, technology, management and academics.
Along with his successful professorship at NU, Professor Bakenov served as a member of Academic and Research Councils of NU, chair of the Equipment Committee, vice dean of research for the NU School of Engineering and Digital Sciences (2019-2023), director of the Center for Energy and Advanced Materials Science, National Laboratory Astana (2016 – current), member of the National Science Councils of the Republic of Kazakhstan. In 2013, he established the first startup company at NU - Institute of Batteries, LLC under the World Bank – the Government of Kazakhstan Commercialization Program. This startup is currently one of the best research institutions in Kazakhstan, successfully developing research and industrial projects, contributing excellent publications and training excellent researchers. Along with this work, Prof. Bakenov served on various state and international committees and working groups. Prof. Bakenov published more than 200 peer-reviewed articles (h-index 40, with some publications that can be found at Zhumabay Bakenov – Research output — NU (nu.edu.kz)), delivered more than 300 talks at the best international conferences, and obtained a large number of patents for inventions. Prof. Bakenov has established and chairs a successful international conference on functional materials and systems, “International Conference on Nanomaterials and Advanced Energy Storage Systems (INESS)”, which became an effective platform for the international experts to share and discuss progress in research about advanced functional materials and systems.
For his achievements in research, Prof. Bakenov was awarded several international and national awards and recognitions, including those from the leading publishers, professional societies, and the government of Kazakhstan.
Advisor to Provost and to Vice President for Medicine
Provost
Executive assistant to Provost
Vice Provost for academic affairs
Vice Provost for Research
Associate Provost for Graduate Studies
Vice Provost for Industry Ingagement
Chief Administrative Office
Advisor to Vice Provosts
Research Administration
Graduate Studies
Office of for Industry Ingagement and Commercialization