After a national search, Midwestern State University is pleased to announce Dr. Margaret “Marcy” Brown Marsden as the permanent Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs. She will begin in the role Jan. 1, 2024. Brown Marsden has been serving as the interim provost since early January.

“Dr. Brown Marsden has been a proven leader on our campus as both interim provost and as dean,” said MSU Texas President Stacia L. Haynie. “Through her experiences as faculty and administrator and her vision for higher education and for Midwestern State University, Dr. Brown Marsden will inform our commitment to access and success.”

As the provost, Brown Marsden will provide primary administrative leadership, direction, and evaluation for all academic activities and faculty affairs for Midwestern State University. Additionally, she will oversee the University’s SACSCOC reaffirmation processes, student success efforts, office of institutional effectiveness, academic budgeting and resources, academic support units, instructional programs, and establishment of academic priorities.

Earlier this week, Midwestern State University was notified of its reaffirmation of accreditation through SACSCOC, the regional accrediting agency. Brown Marsden, in her role as interim provost, along with the university’s liaison Jeremy Duff, led the university through a successful onsite visit in March to final full reaffirmation by the agency.

“I am grateful to be asked to serve Midwestern State University in a new capacity and have enjoyed my time here on campus and in Wichita Falls,” said Brown Marsden. “Being a member of the campus leadership and serving this university’s students, staff, and faculty is a great privilege. I look forward to the opportunities and challenges ahead as we strengthen and grow MSU Texas.”

Before accepting the interim provost role, Brown Marsden served as the dean of the McCoy College of Science, Mathematics & Engineering at MSU Texas since September 2015. She holds a Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from Purdue University and an MBA from Texas A&M Commerce. Prior to her appointment at MSU Texas, Brown Marsden was a biology faculty member, Biology Department chair, and associate dean of the Constantin College of Liberal Arts at the University of Dallas from 1997 to 2015.

Her research interests lie at the interface between science and society — she conducted avian research in Alaska, Alcatraz Island, and Costa Rica; consulted for the Perot Museum of Nature and Science and the Dallas Museum of Art; and studied rare orchids and their conservation in Texas.

Brown Marsden and her husband, Richard Marsden, have been married for 23 years, and their son, Samuel, is 8 years old and in the third grade. Samuel believes he will be a student at MSU Texas someday.