news-record.com

WINSTON-SALEM — Wake Forest University has tapped an alumnus to be its next provost.

The university announced this morning it has appointed Rogan Kersh as its new provost. He will also be a professor of political science. Kersh currently is the associate dean of academic affairs and a professor of public policy at New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service.

Kersh will be responsible for overseeing academic programs and development of the schools' Reynolda Campus this summer. He also will supervise several deans.

Kersh graduated from Wake in 1986 with a degree in political science, before moving on to Yale University, where he received two masters' degrees and a doctorate in political science. He taught at Syracuse University for 10 years and has been at NYU since 2006. His speciality is the U.S. health care policy system and is a noted expert on obesity.

"Wake Forest was my first academic home,” Kersh said in a news release. “During my undergraduate years and regular return visits to campus I developed an abiding devotion to the University; its faculty, students, and staff; and its traditions. I look forward to returning to my alma mater in a professional capacity.”