On most mornings, Interim Provost Nell Jessup Newtown is in Reynolda Hall by 8 a.m., with her adorable dog Roxie, ready for a day packed with meetings. By 5 p.m., she has usually met with faculty, staff, administrators or committees — sometimes without more than 20 minutes to walk with Roxie.
“It’s hard,” she said with a laugh. “Maybe I should file a complaint with the labor department. But right now, I’m really just trying to meet as many people as I can and understand Wake Forest — what makes it work, what our needs are and how I can help.”
While the job of provost may sound distant to most students, Newton describes her job simply. The president oversees the whole university, the executive vice president manages operations, like dining and finance, and the provost is in charge of academics, often in the form of programming, faculty affairs and student success.
“[A provost is] kind of the dean of deans,” Newton said.
Her path to this position wasn’t one she planned. A longtime law professor and dean, Newton came to Reynolda campus in 2022 as the interim dean at the Wake Forest School of Law. But what drew her to the Wake Forest community wasn’t just ambition, but a deep admiration for the university.
“I knew Wake Forest was a good school,” Newton said, “then I began hearing from the children of friends what a transformative experience they’d had here. And I started thinking, I don’t hear that as much from other schools. What is it about this place?”
Once on campus, she found her answer. “It’s not only beautiful,” she said. “I’ve never seen a place that’s more focused on teaching. Teaching well and mentoring students, treating them like individuals. I just fell in love with it.”
When President Wente asked her to step into the interim provost role, Newton accepted, even though she admitted she wasn’t entirely sure what a provost did.
“But I’m a fast study,” she said. “And I wanted to help.”
Much of that help, she noted, comes through listening. In her first months, she met with faculty and staff across departments, hoping to identify both challenges and opportunities. She sees her role as managing academics rather than transforming them.
“My job is to steer the ship until we get a permanent provost,” Newton said. “Not to make big changes, shake everything up, just help the university through this transition.”
Newton’s vision also stretches towards the future. She sees interdisciplinary studies and emerging technologies like artificial intelligence as central to Wake Forest’s growth.
Years ago, she was offered funding for a chair in ethics and AI — long before most people had even heard of machine learning. Now, she believes it’s time for universities to take these questions seriously as students experience an entirely new reality in higher education
“AI is liberating and incredibly helpful, but you have to learn first how to use it to help yourself grow and learn more, but also how to use it ethically and appropriately,” Newton said. “And I’m hoping that we will be teaching this throughout. We have to embrace it.”
Newton also discussed the importance of encouraging interdisciplinary studies.
“It’s a big part of the strategic framing process that they went through a few years ago and the planning for the future is to be even more interdisciplinary,” Newton said. “I think the way you do it is you have choices of things that you fund and you try to fund programs that are more interdisciplinary. You encourage faculty to get outside of their little narrow area and reach out to others.”
The heart of Newton’s approach is Wake Forest’s motto, “Pro Humanitate.” Newton admits it’s a phrase that may confuse those outside of the Wake community, but she finds it deeply meaningful.
“The idea that we’re here not just for ourselves, but for others, is a very deep one and it resonates with me beautifully,” she said.
She added: “[It’s] doing work for others. I’m not here for myself. I’m not here to make a name for myself. I’ve already made a name for myself. I don’t need to worry about that anymore.”
Though her time as interim provost may be temporary, Newton’s focus is steady: to listen, support and help the university move forward.
“I’m here to serve,” she said.
