Update Monday, Sept. 28 at 9 p.m.

According to Marilyn Levine, who announced her upcoming resignation last week, she will remain in Ellensburg while the university searches for a replacement. Levine said it can take up to a year to find a qualified candidate and that she “will be here to shepherd things.”

“I’m stepping down as provost and I’ll be in Ellensburg, but I’ll be seeking other opportunities,” Levine said.

Minutes after Levine announced her resignation early on Monday, Sept. 21, hundreds of emails poured in wishing her well and expressing regret in seeing her leave. Levine said she had spent hours responding to each email personally.

Her resignation came as a surprise to many faculty members, including Central President Gaudino who expressed his deep admiration for Levine in an email sent to The Observer on Thursday, Sept. 28.

“Marilyn has made many very significant achievements and, because of her efforts, Central is recognized nationally as one of the best schools in the West,” Gaudino wrote. “Remaining the best is not easy, and it will be essential for the next provost to work effectively with the deans to continue to improve what is already a great university.”

Levine is known in the Central community as an administrator with an approachable personality. Her office is draped in Chinese calligraphy and on her coffee table rests a plate of cookies and a tea kettle for guests.

“She is a person who feels equally comfortable presenting research at an international conference and putting on the Wellington costume to cheer on an athletic team,” Gaudino said.

Katharine Whitcomb is an English professor and worked closely with Levine as a Faculty Senate Chair on the Faculty Senate Executive Committee.

“I commend her ongoing commitment to shared governance and willingness to open lines of communication with her faculty,” Whitcomb wrote in an email to The Observer. “Her establishment of the new Academic Student Life Council, which includes members of the faculty, is a legacy”

Levine mentioned Whitcomb personally as someone she knew on staff that she admired.

“We have a staff that is just so dedicated,” Levine said. “Those are the things that give me wrenches.”

Levine would not comment on a specific reason as to why she is resigning, though did she say she is using the time for self reflection.

“I’m doing some life assessment and thinking of some other opportunities and exploring those,” Levine said. “I’m being vague because I’m not sure. We’ll see what happens.”

With additional free time, Levine plans to finish her third book with the working title of “Remembering Revolutionaries: Chinese Voices from the 20th Century,” which she had been researching for the past 30 years.

Levine is fluent in Chinese and conducted interviews of Chinese immigrants alongside researchers at Tsing Hua University in Beijing.

“They had been in Paris, Berlin in their 20s. Some of these guys were very artistic,” she said. “They were all participating in politics and some of them were academics.”

Levine said she will consider becoming faculty again, possibly in Central’s Department of History.

Original story

Marilyn Levine, provost and vice president for Academic and Student Life of four years, is resigning on Nov. 1, 2015. Levine announced her resignation to Central faculty on Monday, Sept. 21.

“I am writing this letter to share some important news with you,” Levine said. “You all know that every day I feel honored and proud to work with such talented and accomplished faculty and staff. But I need to go forward with the next step in my career.”

Levine did not mention why she is resigning in her letter to the faculty, nor did she address her future employment plans.

In response to Monday’s news, Central President James Gaudino expressed his regret in seeing her leave the Central community and outlined the university’s plan to fill the vacant position.

“We will truly miss Provost Levine,” Gaudino said. “Please join me in thanking Provost Levine for her accomplishments over the past four years.”

According to Gaudino, Central plans to fill her position with Associate Provost Anne Cubilie, who will oversee day-to-day administrative operations in the Office of the Provost until an official replacement is found.

To help find a new candidate, the university will tap resources at Central’s registry, Gaudino said, which “places interim leaders in executive roles at institutions of higher education.”

According to Levine’s bio page on Central’s website, she was appointed as provost in winter 2011 after serving as Dean of the Arts and Sciences at Eastern Oregon University for six years.

In the email she sent to staff, Levine reflected on the positive changes she was able to make at Central.

“I feel proud of our accomplishments: facing budget reductions, organizational challenges, increased shared governance and, of course, we all have endeavored to think creatively and into the future with strategic planning as we continue to implement RCM,” Levine said.

A provost is a senior administrator who is generally the second in command under the university president. At Central, Levine worked alongside Chief of Staff Sherer Holter and George Clark, VP of Business and Financial Affairs.