Barbara Bichelmeyer named provost and executive vice chancellor

LAWRENCE — Barbara Bichelmeyer has been named the next provost and executive vice chancellor of the Lawrence campus.

Bichelmeyer is currently the provost and executive vice chancellor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, where she also served as interim chancellor. Prior to that, she held numerous leadership roles at Indiana University-Bloomington and elsewhere within the IU system. She earned four degrees from the University of Kansas.

Bichelmeyer will begin her new role with KU in late February 2020.

"Barbara is a talented researcher and administrator as well as a proud KU alumna with an unabashed love for this place," said Chancellor Douglas A. Girod. "Beyond her credentials. I’ve had the pleasure of working with her for years on initiatives to enhance higher education’s role in regional economic development. As a result of our work together, I have come to know Barbara as a genuine and compassionate person who cares deeply about students, research and higher education. She is a Jayhawk to the core and committed to this university’s success. For all these reasons, I have no doubt she will be a strong and effective leader for KU."

Bichelmeyer's appointment concludes a national search process that began in spring 2019. Four finalists were invited to KU to meet with members of the community and deliver a public presentation beginning in October.