Lee F. Snyder, EMU interim provost (Photo by Barbara Schwartz)
A former vice president and academic dean at EMU will return to serve as interim provost for the 2008-09 school year.
EMU President Loren Swartzendruber announced that Dr. Lee F. Snyder will begin serving Aug. 25 in the second highest administrative post at the university.
She succeeds Dr. Beryl H. Brubaker, who is retiring this summer after 37 years as a faculty member and administrator.
The provost gives overall guidance to the undergraduate and graduate academic programs of the university as well as Eastern Mennonite Seminary, various auxiliary programs and the Adult Degree Completion Program.
"I am pleased that Dr. Snyder will serve in this interim role at EMU," Swartzendruber said. "She brings a wealth of experience to the responsibilities she will carry."
Academic Background
Snyder was vice president and academic dean of EMU for 12 years before becoming president of Bluffton (Ohio) University, where she served with distinction from 1996 until retiring on July 31, 2006.
Snyder joined the EMU faculty in 1974 and taught part time in the humanities and in English while serving as an assistant in the dean’s office, 1974-82.
A native of Harrisburg, Ore., Snyder attended EMU for one year and earned a B.A. degree from the University of Oregon.
Later she received an MA in English literature and linguistics from James Madison University and a PhD in American and Victorian literature from the University of Oregon.
Her doctoral work focused on the writings of contemporary California writer Joan Didion.
Global Interests
Lee and her husband, Delbert W. Snyder, taught in Nigeria, 1965-68. Her many board and association assignments include: chair of the China Educational Exchange Board, 1989-95; chair, executive Board of Mennonite Church USA and moderator, Mennonite Health Services Alliance board of directors, 2006-present and current chair.
Assignments in Africa, Asia and Latin America have contributed to her interest in global issues and international education.
Snyder and her husband again reside in Harrisonburg, Va.