AUBG Appoints Dr. J.D. Mininger as the Univesity's New Provost
Dr. J.D. Mininger will join AUBG’s leadership team as the university’s new Provost starting August 15, 2022. He comes to AUBG from LCC International University, where he served as Vice President of Academic Affairs and in this role provided leadership in the form of vision, planning, and administrative oversight of the entire Academic division of the university.
“We conducted a thorough research for the Provost position with the help of a U.S.-based search company,” said AUBG President Dr. David Evans. “The search committee selected four final candidates who visited campus in late Spring to meet with students, faculty and administration. While all four candidates were strong, Dr. Mininger was a favorite of all constituencies, and we are happy to have the committee's No1 choice accept our offer.”
Mininger said he is excited to be joining AUBG. “Having experienced the university's special atmosphere and met many members of the university community during my campus visit, I am deeply impressed by the high levels of engagement, academic excellence, and commitment to the institution's mission and to the student experience at the heart of that mission," he said. "I am passionate about the liberal arts model of education because it is now more relevant than ever: politically, economically, and socially. The world needs AUBG graduates! And it is an honor to become part of this influential and impactful educational institution. I relish the opportunity to contribute to AUBG's continuing success as a student-centered university dedicated to academic rigor in the context of a vibrant campus community."
Before becoming Vice President of Academic Affairs in 2017, Dr. Mininger was Associate Dean for Faculty Development at LCC International University, a North American liberal arts institution in Lithuania. He holds a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the University of Minnesota, has studied at the Humboldt University and Free University of Berlin, and was a fellow at the Søren Kierkegaard Research Center at the University of Copenhagen. He is the managing editor of the philosophy focused Value Inquiry Book Series (VIBS) at Brill (Leiden/Boston), editor of the VIBS subseries Philosophy, Literature, and Politics, and a senior editor at the Baltic Journal of Law and Politics.
Dr. Mininger is married with two children and will move to Bulgaria with his family in August.
“As we welcome our new Provost, I would like to also express our deep gratitude to Dr. Robert White, who accepted the role of Interim Provost during a time of great challenges and contributed immensely to AUBG's success in navigating them,” Evans said. “We are glad that we will continue to work with him as Dean of Faculty.”