Office Staff

Linda Benitez is responsible for all accounting, travel reimbursements, and purchasing for the Provost’s office. She is a Lawrence native and is passionate about animals, the environment, and urban sprawl.

Kathy serves as the office receptionist and as Liliana Merubia's assistant. Prior to joining the Provost Office staff in the fall of 2007, she worked as an Administrative Assistant at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. She is a native of Salina, Kansas, and holds a bachelor's degree in Health, Sport, and Exercise Science from the University of Kansas.

Emily is the assistant to Danny Anderson, Linda Luckey, and Jane Rosenthal. She joined the staff in the Provost’s Office in 2007, and previously worked in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences Dean’s Office since 2002. Before coming to KU, she was a paralegal for an amusement park and a law office.

Having worked four years as editor and research assistant for Don Steeple’s geophysics research group, Sally took on additional responsibilities to support Don’s administrative work and joined the Provost Office staff in fall 2007. Sally has served on university committees and worked in other campus units, including 12 years at the Spencer Museum of Art, in the two decades since she returned to Lawrence. A 1978 KU graduate in English, Sally has a master’s degree in information management from the University of Denver. She worked as a librarian for the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the city of Marysville, KS. Sally is a native of Atwood, KS, and daughter of KU alumni Ruth Kelley (’43) and Irven W. Hayden Jr (’47).

Tracy works with administrative, research and academic staff in regard to space management issues. Her responsibilities include space planning and design in addition to facility management and data collection. She received her B.A. from the University of Iowa and an M.B.A. from the University of Kansas. Prior to coming to KU as a Space Analyst, she had more than eighteen years of experience in corporate design and construction.

Dr. Mary Lee Hummert (Ph.D., University of Kansas), Vice Provost for Faculty Development, joined the Provost’s Office in September, 2006. Dr. Hummert is also a Professor of Communication Studies and on the faculty of the interdisciplinary doctoral program in gerontology. She has previously served as Associate Vice Provost for Research and Interim Vice Provost for Student Support at the university. Key responsibilities in her current position include administration and coordination of faculty programs and policies, such as new faculty orientation, the promotion and tenure process, sabbatical leave, distinguished professorships, etc. In addition, she coordinates development programs for department chairs/program directors and serves as the liaison in the Provost’s office for the schools of business, fine arts, journalism, law and social welfare.

Jeannette Johnson has been a member of the KU administrative staff for over 25 years. She previously served as assistant to the Dean of the School of Education and assistant to the Executive Vice Chancellor. Since 1996 she has been an assistant to the Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost, with primary responsibilities in the area of University policy. She has been a member of numerous University committees and task forces, including search and administrative review committees. She holds degrees in Germanic Languages and Literatures from the University of Illinois, Urbana, and the University of Kansas, and occasionally volunteers as a courtesy lecturer in the Humanities and Western Civilization program of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Bill Kummerow is the Web programmer for the Office of the Provost and the Spencer Museum of Art. He comes to this position from Academic Technology Services, where he had worked since 1998. Bill has a master's in curriculum and instruction from the University of Tennessee and a bachelor's in history from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

The Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor is the chief operations and academic officer on the Lawrence and Edwards Campuses. The Provost is primarily responsible for advancing the mission of the University in conjunction with the Chancellor, administrators, faculty, staff, and students. He oversees all academic, research and public service units. In addition, the Provost is responsible for academic and administrative policies and goals, acting through the vice provosts and deans in cooperation with University Governance.

Linda Luckey assists with the management of programs such as the Senior Administrative Fellows and the Office of Women in Higher Education, monitors progress on university initiatives including undergraduate research and service learning, and coordinates projects for the Senior Vice Provost. She is currently assisting with the establishment of the new Center for Service Learning. During her 10 years at KU, Linda also served as Assistant to the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and Assistant to the Executive Vice Chancellor for University Relations. She is staff advisor for the KU Alternative Breaks program, serves on the Friends of Women Studies Board, and occasionally teaches the COMS 201: Introduction to Leadership course. Before coming to KU, Linda was the Vice President for Business Affairs at the Chicago Theological Seminary, from which she holds a Master of Divinity Degree.

Jenny Mehmedovic is an assistant to the provost at The University of Kansas. Her primary responsibility is working with campus partners to populate the KU Policy Library. She is a supporting player in the KU Information Management Program, with the goal of cultivating better information handling by all members of the university community. Jenny is a member of the Educause/Internet 2 Security Task Force working group on Policy/Legal Issues. Before joining the Office of the Provost this year, she served for 6 years in the Office of the Vice Provost for Information Services as coordinator of information technology policy and planning. Jenny has developed information technology policy for the university community and has educated users on topics such as access, copyright, privacy, records management and information security. She provides professional facilitation upon request to groups engaged in strategic planning, team building, and process improvement. Jenny has also been employed at KU in the Office of Institutional Research and Planning, and has held an internal audit position with Sprint. A 2005 Frye Institute Fellow, Jenny has bachelor's degrees in anthropology and Spanish and a master's degree in business administration.

As Senior Assistant to the Provost, Liliana Merubia serves as an advisor to the Provost. Her duties include planning and support. Liliana oversees staff hires, monitors projects, tracks issues. She serves as a liaison to university administrators and the public. Liliana develops and coordinates outreach and recruitment efforts for Latinos on behalf of the Provost. She has over 28 years of administrative experience in higher education and the Texas Legislature prior to her current position in the Provost Office.

Sandy is office manager and oversees the Provost's calendar and schedule. She arranges his travel and itineraries, and coordinates luncheons, dinners and special events. She is a life-long resident of the Lawrence community.

Susann Richardson assists Mary Lee Hummert, Vice Provost for Faculty Support. She maintains faculty records related to promotion and tenure, sabbatical leaves, and progress toward tenure review.

Jane Rosenthal is responsible for coordination of efforts and initiatives on behalf of the Senior Vice Provost relating to issues of Privacy on campus. These issues may include, but not be limited to, policy, procedure, review and compliance regarding individually identifiable health information, student records, financial records and identifiable data requiring protections mandated by federal, state, or local laws. Additionally, she is the Custodian of Records for purposes of the Kansas Open Records Act, and she coordinates requests for the Lawrence directed campuses.

• Kansas Open Records Act
• Privacy Office
• KUMC Kansas Open Records Contact

As Financial Manager/Analyst, Paula reports to the Vice Provost of Administration and Finance, supervising the financial affairs and assisting with the budget within the Office of the Provost. She also provides assistance to units associated with the Provost Office and analyzes the impact of financial commitments. She brings to the position 17 years of small business ownership, and several years as project coordinator in the software field. Paula holds a degree in Information Systems.

Don Steeples is McGee Distinguished Professor of Geophysics and Vice Provost for Scholarly Support at The University of Kansas. His responsibilities include oversight of space management on campus and serving as a liaison to the Provost on behalf of Spencer Art Museum, the ROTC program, and Instructional Development and Support. Don earned a BS in geophysics (1969) and an MS in geology (1970) from Kansas State University where he was a member of both the varsity football and varsity track teams. After two years as a lieutenant in the US Army Corps of Engineers in Alaska, he returned to graduate school and received an MS (1974) and PhD (1975) in geophysics from Stanford University. He has consulted for more than 50 companies and government agencies and operates a 1900-acre western Kansas wheat farm.