Michael Ibba, Ph.D. has been appointed as the new executive vice president, provost, and chief academic officer at Chapman University. Dr. Ibba currently serves as interim provost. Dr. Ibba, who earned his undergraduate degree in biochemistry with honors from the University of London and his Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Manchester, is an internationally known and award-winning microbiologist and researcher. He came to Chapman with significant R1 credentials from The Ohio State University. He served several progressively responsible positions at Ohio State starting in 2001, culminating in his roles as chair of the Department of Microbiology and associate director of the Infectious Diseases Institute. He joined Chapman in 2020 as Dean of the Schmid College of Science and Technology; he advanced the Schmid College’s academic offerings and research footprint in meaningful ways. His achievements include: the college successfully increased total student enrollments by 9% and the total number of credits taught by 18%; total grant funding awarded for research also increased by 300% with year-over-year publication growth; the college launched evidence-based faculty mentor training as a requirement for faculty to participate in a new program that provides credit for mentoring undergraduate researchers; and he helped to develop and launch a new doctoral program in Math, Physics, and Philosophy. Read more.