Office of the Provost
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Office of the Provost
The Office of the Provost provides institutional support for the development, review and implementation of academic policies and education 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 process across the University;
- Coordination of external institutional review processes.
Senior Leadership
Ilesanmi Adesida
The ProvostThe Provost is the chief academic officer of the University, with authority to lead the development and implementation of the University’s academic and research excellence goals.Professor Ilesanmi Adesida serves as the Provost since October 2016.
He joined the ranks of the University of Illinois faculty in 1987, where he was a professor of Engineering Sciences, professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, as well as special advisor on International Programs. He served as the Director of the Laboratory of Micro- and Nanotechnology from 2000 to 2005, as well as the Director of the Center for Nanoscale Sciences and Technologies from 2001 to 2012. In addition, during those years, he was the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering. He also nurtured a number of national and international partnerships in the field of education, research, and innovation entrepreneurship. Professor Adesida has published more than 350 peer-reviewed articles and has made more than 250 presentations at international conferences. He is a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Vacuum Society, Optical Society of America and the Materials Research Society. He was awarded the Oakley Kunde Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Education. He was also named an Outstanding Graduate of the Department of EECS, University of California, Berkeley. He was awarded the IEEE EDS for Special Merits in 2011. In 2016 he won the Minerals, Metals and Materials Society (TMS) Functional Materials John Bardeen Award. Professor Adesida was also a member of the Board of ASEE Engineering Deans and acted as Chairman of its Public Policy Committee from 2009 to 2011. Professor Adesida was Chairman of the session of the 5th Global University Summit held in Chicago in 2012, which was attended by the presidents and chancellors of some the largest international universities to discuss Developing Talent to Drive Innovation in a Global Society. He has served as Chairman of the NSF Engineering Advisory Board, an NSF Waterman Award Committee member, and worked for Committee on Institutional Cooperation and Provost Committees. He has also worked in a number of committees of the United States’ National Academies and is a member of the prestigious National Academy of Engineering of the United States.
Loretta O’Donnell
The Vice-Provost for Academic AffairsThe Vice-Provost for Academic Affairs assists the Provost in carrying out his responsibilities on 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 over 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 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 ResearchDr. 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 StudiesDoctor 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 3-year stance 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 education 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 post-doctoral 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 EngagementProfessor 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 of 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 (TokyoTech, 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. Later he was promoted to Lecturer, and after receiving his PhD degree to Assistant and Associate Professor positions. From 1999 he joined TokyoTech 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 is 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 and 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 Kazakhstan and international universities had an excellent experience of working and establishing at the Battery Group. Many of them successfully continue 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 Equipment Committee, Vice Dean for Research of School of Engineering and Digital Sciences NU (2019-2023), Director of Center for Energy and Advanced Materials Science, National Laboratory Astana (2016 – current), Member of 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. Currently this startup become 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, some publications 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 on 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.
- Office: №4006, Block C2
- Phone: + 7 (7172) 70 90 45, 70 61 90
- Mail: provostoffice@nu.edu.kz
- Address: 53, Kabanbay batyr Ave., 010000, Astana, Kazakhstan