The provost is the chief academic officer of Washington University in St. Louis, responsible for teaching, learning, scholarship, and research across the Danforth Campus.

Included in the provost’s purview are academic planning, budgeting and facilities. University-wide curricular and co–curricular activities including undergraduate and graduate education, diversity, internationalization and outreach are key issues of the provost. The provost is responsible for innovation and entrepreneurship on both campuses and collaborates with the other executive vice chancellors on research and information technology for all seven schools.

Aerial view of Danforth Campus, looking west. (1927)

Succession of the Provost:
George E. Pake, 1962–1969
Merle Kling, 1976–1983
Ralph E. Morrow, 1983–1986; 1988
W. Maxwell Cowan, 1986–1987
Edward S. Macias, 1988–1995, 2009–2013
Holden Thorp, 2013–2019
Marion G. Crain, 2019–2020 (Interim)
Beverly R. Wendland, 2020–

Executive Vice Chancellors in Lieu of Provost:
Carl A. Dauten, 1969–1976
Edward S. Macias, 1995–2008

Sources: Washington University Archives and Morrow, Ralph, Washington University in St. Louis: A History. St. Louis: Missouri Historical Society Press, 1996.