Office of the Provost
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Office of the Provost
The Office of the Provost provides institutional support for the development, review, and implementation of academic policies and educational initiatives that advance enhancements in learning and teaching experiences.
In particular, the scope of the Office’s efforts encompasses:
- Advancement of the university-wide approaches to improving the quality of education delivery;
- Provision of institutional oversight to enhance the overall quality of instruction, curriculum design, and program management;
- Support of academic professionals in applying innovations in teaching and learning;
- Support of institutional planning and effectiveness through institutional research;
- Promotion of technology-enhanced learning processes across the university;
- Coordination of external institutional review processes.
Senior Leadership
Loretta O’Donnell
The Acting Provost and Vice-Provost for Academic AffairsThe vice-provost for academic affairs assists the provost in carrying out his responsibilities for academic matters (academic planning, learning and teaching, integrating research into teaching). Doctor Loretta O’Donnell was appointed to this post
in August 2013. She presents on Eurasian higher education themes at international conferences including: ASEF (Asian European Foundation) Rectors’ Conference; Eurasian Higher Education Leaders’ Forum; Times Higher Education Asian Universities Summit and University Alliance of the Silk Road and the NU Annual Gender Forum. She has more than twenty years of experience in teaching Executive MBA, postgraduate and undergraduate business students in the Australian School of Business, University of New South Wales (UNSW) located in Sydney, Australia. As an elected faculty member of the UNSW Academic Board, and as Associate Dean of Education, she combined academic policy development and implementation with her teaching, learning and research interests. She was program director for the UNSW AGSM Graduate Certificate in Change Management and for the Masters of Commerce program. Dr. O’Donnell has won awards for her teaching and for research on human capital analysis in financial markets. Previously, she consulted in organizational change for a large global firm in Sydney and Chicago and in a boutique firm specializing in developing management systems to sustain change. Her academic qualifications include PhD in Management (Macquarie Graduate School of Management); MBA (AGSM, UNSW), Graduate Diploma in Education and Bachelor of Arts (Honours) (N’cle).
Chester Jablonski
Vice Provost for ResearchDr. Chester Jablonski is an experienced academic administrator in graduate education. He was appointed as dean of Graduate Studies at Memorial University in St. John’s Newfoundland Canada in 1997, dean of Graduate Studies at Zayed University in the
United Arab Emirates in 2008, and associate provost of Graduate Studies at NU in 2018.
In his current role as Vice provost for research, Dr. Jablonski assists the provost in providing a supportive and nurturing culture that ensures excellence, integrity, and compliance for all aspects of the research enterprise. Dr. Jablonski was appointed to this post in January 2022. His international experience in higher education includes service as chair of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Postgraduate Scholarship Committee for Physical Sciences, secretary of the executive of the Canadian Association of Graduate Studies (CAGS), and a Canadian representative for the Northeastern Association of Graduate Schools (NAGS). He has been an active contributor to graduate education as dean of Graduate Studies at Memorial University, Zayed University, and NU. He currently serves on the board of directors of Abai Kazakh National Pedagogical University and Kazakh National Women's Teacher Training University. He is professionally recognized as a fellow of the Canadian Chemistry Society for his research in transition metal chiral catalysis.
Aida Sagintayeva
Vice Provost for Academic Planning and Budget and Dean of the Graduate School of EducationDoctor Sagintayeva (Ph.D., Ablai Khan Kazakh University of International Relations and World Languages) is a person who started her professional career from being a faculty at M. H. Dulati Taraz State University. Dr. Sagintayeva was a Vice-Rector
for International Cooperation at the Eurasian National University. She has been involved in educational research projects at the Ministry of Education and Science on gearing Kazakhstan’s higher education system towards the European three-tiered degree system and has coordinated a ministerial initiative aimed at introducing Western PhD programmes in Kazakhstan. Also she was formerly president of the Bolashak International Scholarship Office. Dr. Sagintayeva is the author and co-author of more than 50 scientific journal articles and several methodological books dealing with language issues, foreign language education, educational reforms, internationalization of higher education, educational policy, and administration in higher education.
Luis Ramón Rojas-Solórzano
Associate Provost for Graduate StudiesDoctor Luis Ramón Rojas-Solórzano is a visionary, strategic, and proactive academic leader who has built a successful career in higher education for more than 30 years. He got his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering in 1997 at Carnegie Mellon
University, USA.
He started his academic career in 1988 after a three-year stint in the industry. He got his bachelor's in mechanical engineering and MSc in hydraulics engineering at the Universidad Simón Bolívar, Venezuela (1985, 1991), which was the place where he grew his first 25 years in academia, retiring as a tenured, full professor in 2013.
Doctor Rojas-Solórzano has been a visiting professor and scientist in the USA (Carnegie Mellon University, Phillips-Respironics, DRESSER-RAND), France (IMT-Atlantique, Nantes), Spain (UPC), Portugal (UNL-NSCT), and Peru (PUCP).
After joining NU in 2013, Doctor Rojas-Solórzano has served as head of Graduate Programs, and most recently, director of Graduate Studies in SEDS, successfully applying the NU graduate framework to masters and doctoral programs.
Doctor Rojas-Solórzano is an experienced academic who practices a student-centered educational approach and respects the multiple and varied perspectives of his peer faculty, staff, students, and the community he has served. He believes that influential educational leaders of today appreciate diversity as a valuable resource to strengthen inclusion and enhance excellence in higher education.
The associate provost of Graduate Studies oversees academic and administrative support to ensure a high-quality educational experience for all NU masters and doctoral students and postdoctoral scholars. Dr. Rojas was appointed to this post in January 2022.
In September 2022, he received the inaugural "NASA POWER/RETScreen Excellence Award, Category: Educators and Researchers," recognizing his achievements in research-integrated teaching of clean energy technologies.
- Office: №4006, Block C2
- Phone: + 7 (7172) 70 90 45, 70 61 90
- Mail: provostoffice@nu.edu.kz
- Address: 53, Kabanbay batyr Ave., 010000, Astana, Kazakhstan