Dear Faculty and Staff,
Welcome to the start of the 2026–27 academic year. I hope the summer provided opportunities to rest, recharge, and make progress on the teaching, research, creative, and scholarly work that distinguishes Chapman.
As we begin the year, I am grateful for the opportunity to continue serving Chapman as provost and chief academic officer. Over the past year, I have appreciated the thoughtful conversations I have had with faculty, academic leaders, and staff across the university. Those perspectives have helped shape our priorities, and I look forward to continuing that collaboration as we strengthen the academic experience for our students.
One important area of work is preparing students to navigate a world increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies. Over the past year, the General Education and AI task forces have considered how Chapman can approach this work in a way that reflects the breadth of a university education. Their work has led to several exciting new proposals, which we will continue to consider this year.
We are also expanding Chapman’s faculty awards to recognize a broader range of contributions across our academic community. The five new honors are:
- Program Building and Curricular Leadership Award
- Innovation in Practice Award
- Spirit of the University Award
- Excellence in Interdisciplinary Research and Creative Activity Award
- Distinguished Teaching Recognition Award, with separate honors for early career and senior faculty.
Together, these awards recognize excellence in teaching, curricular leadership, professional practice, interdisciplinary scholarship and creative activity, and service to the university. I am grateful to President Parlow for supporting this effort and helping us recognize more of the outstanding work taking place across Chapman. Additional information about eligibility, nominations, and award benefits will be shared soon.
The Center for Undergraduate Excellence is also launching the Catalyst Award for undergraduate research and creative activities this fall. The program recognizes full-time faculty who demonstrate a strong commitment to mentoring undergraduate students and provides additional incentives to support this important work.
The year also begins with several changes in academic leadership. On Sept. 1, Dr. Charu Sinha will become vice provost for academic administration, succeeding Dr. Raymond Sfeir. Charu brings extensive experience in curriculum development, assessment, accreditation, and student success, and I am grateful to Raymond for his many years of thoughtful leadership and dedicated service to Chapman. We also welcome Dr. Amy Zeng as dean of the Argyros College of Business and Economics and Antony Page, J.D., as dean of the Dale E. Fowler School of Law. Each brings valuable experience and perspective to this work, and I look forward to partnering with them.
A new academic year always brings a renewed sense of possibility. Thank you for the expertise, energy, and care you bring to our students and to one another. I wish you a productive start to the fall and look forward to working with you in the year ahead.
Mike Ibba
EVP, Provost, and Chief Academic Officer