Wichita State’s Shirley Lefever and Werner Golling will both retire this year. Lefever, who serves as provost and executive vice president, will retire at the end of the calendar year, while Golling, vice president of finance and administration, will retire in July. Both retirements were announced in a Strategic Communications press release on Wednesday morning.

In the release, President Richard Muma made it clear that while both administrators plan to leave at the same time, “the timing is coincidental.” 

Search committees are currently being formed to conduct a national search for replacements. Lainie Mazzullo-Hart, the director of communication for Strategic Communications, said that Shelly Coleman-Martins will chair the search for a new provost, while Zach Gearhart will chair the finance and administration search committee.

“The search chairs are currently reaching out to individuals and asking for their voluntary participation,” Mazzullo-Hart wrote in an email. “Those names are not public yet because that process just started today following the announcement. They will include a variety of stakeholders.”

Public forums will be held after finalists are selected for each position. The new provost is expected to start immediately after the 2024-2025 winter break; the vice president of finance and administration will start immediately after Golling retires in July. 

Mazzullo-Hart said Lefever and Golling “have indicated that they are willing to extend their time in their respective roles if necessary to ensure a complete and smooth transfer.”

Lefever has been at the university since 2005 when she began as a department chair in the College of Applied Studies. She eventually became associate dean in 2008 and then dean of the college in 2014. 

After Lefever became interim executive vice president and provost of the university in 2020, the role became permanent in 2022. 

Golling’s time at the university is significantly shorter than Lefever’s; he entered his role in 2017 and has remained in it since. Golling oversees various financial and administrative operations at the university, such as public safety, human resources, information technology, and university facilities.

More information about the two and their roles at Wichita State can be found at wichita.edu.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated with new information.