Dr. Fred Kniss, Provost

Dr. Fred Kniss began serving as provost at EMU on July 1, 2009. Dr. Kniss formerly served as Professor and Chair of the Department of Sociology at Loyola University Chicago. He is a 1979 EMU graduate and received his Ph.D. at the University of Chicago in 1992.

Dr. Kniss’ research interests lie in immigrant religion, religious change and conflict, and faith-based international relief and development organizations. He has published two books and a variety of articles and book chapters. He has served on the boards of various professional associations and has held several journal editorial positions.

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.

Intellectual Life Events on Campus

The provost invites the community to participate in the upcoming calendar of intellectual life events on campus, including Suter Science Seminars, academic forums, interfaith discussions, university colloquiums, the Augsburger lecture series, and more.

Upcoming Intellectual Life Events

The University Colloquium Series

The Provost's Office is the host of this academic lecture series. Lecturers are invited to present on current, cutting-edge concerns in their area of scholarly expertise, accessible to an interdisciplinary audience and followed by discussion. 

Colloquium videos:

When permission is granted, videos of past University Colloquium presentations are made available for student access after the event. If you have a valid EMU ID, you can log in here to view the videos.