ATLANTA (ABP) — Wallace Daniel, a history professor and former dean at Baylor University, has been named provost of Mercer University. The position will become effective July 1.
Daniel, a prominent historian, succeeds Horace Fleming in his post as second-highest-ranking administrator of the historically Baptist school. Mercer's main campus is in Macon, Ga., and it also operates a campus in Atlanta.
In a press release, Mercer President Bill Underwood said the change comes at a “critical juncture” in the school's 175-year history.
“Wallace Daniel is respected as an inspiring teacher and an accomplished scholar, has been highly successful in a variety of academic leadership roles, and has a leadership style that is collaborative and transparent,” Underwood said. “I look forward to working with him to build on the university's reputation as one of the finest private institutions in the South.”
Daniel currently serves as a professor of history and editor of the Journal of Church and State at Baylor. From 1996-2005, he was dean of the Baylor College of Arts and Sciences, Baylor's largest academic unit with more than 400 faculty and 6,500 students. He was the founding director of Baylor's Slavic Studies Program from 1986 to 1996, chair of the history department from 1992 to 1996, and director of the school's honors program from 1991 to 2003.
In a Mercer press release, Daniel called it one of the South's most prestigious universities and praised the school's “promising future.”
An honors graduate of the University of North Carolina, Daniel received his doctorate in history from the same institution, specializing in Russian history. He is married to Karol Koger Daniel and has two grown children.
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