Ohio State announces first cohort of Provost’s Early Career Scholars

The Ohio State University has selected its inaugural cohort for the Provost’s Early Career Scholars Program, a new initiative designed to attract and develop the highest caliber early-career faculty. Assistant Professor Brian Skinner is one of the 8 named to the cohort.

“Through the Provost’s Early Career Scholars Program, we aim to recruit and recognize extraordinary faculty as they are beginning their careers at Ohio State,” said Melissa L. Gilliam, executive vice president and provost. “This program is part of our growing work to support faculty at all stages of their professional lifecycle and enable them to do their best work with an entrepreneurial, innovative and creative spirit.”

As part of the program, scholars will hold a Provost’s Early Career Professorship for the first five years of their Ohio State appointment, or until their promotion to associate professor with tenure. Scholars will also receive annual funding from the Office of Academic Affairs to be used for research, startup costs and external engagement. The cohort will participate in activities focused on research and scholarship, participate in social programming and interact with university leaders.

“Our colleagues in this inaugural cohort are emerging as impactful scholars and transformative educators and mentors at Ohio State,” said Patrick Louchouarn, senior vice provost for faculty. “Programs like this will help us attract an inclusive and innovative group of faculty, support them throughout all their career stages, and build on our thriving community of scholars.”

The program is open to tenure-track, early-career candidates from all disciplines who have exceptional promise in their respective fields. Given the excellence and potential of early-career faculty at Ohio State, the inaugural cohort includes both incoming and current assistant professors. Looking to next year and beyond, this program will be a powerful effort that will enable Ohio State to recruit top early-career candidates across disciplines.

Brian Skinner
Assistant Professor
Department of Physics, College of Arts and Sciences
Skinner’s research program focuses on new quantum materials and finding ways that these materials can do things traditional materials cannot. He also applies concepts from solid state and material physics to different settings, ranging from quantum information to the dynamics of human groups.