Wichita State University has chosen Richard Muma as associate provost for quality assurance and accountability in the Office of Academic Affairs and Research. He will start the position on Jan. 1, when senior associate provost Martha Shawver retires.

Muma is professor and chair of the WSU Department of Public Health Sciences in the College of Health Professions. His 14 years on the faculty include seven as chair of the physician assistant department, where he continues to supervise student research.

"I am excited that Rick Muma has accepted this critical leadership role,” Provost Gary L. Miller said. “He brings a compelling vision for how the university can build on its strengths to ensure student success."

Miller said that Muma’s new duties lie at the center of the university’s reshaping initiative, as it focuses on Kansas Board of Regents’ strategic goals to align higher education more closely with workforce needs. Muma will also lead the university’s efforts to meet new standards and processes for quality improvement from the Higher Learning Commission, which oversees accreditation.

Assessment includes direct measures of achievement (e.g., certification examinations) and ability (GRE, Collegiate Learning Assessment results) and indirect measures (e.g., graduation rates, job placement, employer satisfaction).

Muma has carried a lead role in the College of Health Professions on workforce and diversity initiatives, winning large grants for teaching programs and student scholarships. He looks forward to the university-wide challenge.

“Now more than ever, it is important for the institution to rally around the quality of our graduates,” said Muma. “We should be able to agree on standards that describe the overall educational experience of each and every WSU graduate. Delivering a consistent high level of quality to students, and validating through measurement, is central to our mission.”

Muma previously taught in the physician assistant program at the University of Texas-Galveston and chaired the St. Louis University physician assistant education department, where he was associate professor. He earned a Ph.D. in education from University of Missouri-St. Louis.

Shawver began her Wichita State career in 1976. Her administrative assignments have included chair of nursing, associate dean of the College of Health Professions and interim chair of physical therapy. She moved to academic affairs in 1991 as an associate vice president and into the senior associate provost position in 2007.