When Jill Tiefenthaler steps down as provost on June 30 to become president at Colorado College, she will leave behind a lasting legacy.

During her four-year term as Wake Forest’s first female chief academic officer, she led implementation of strategic initiatives including diversity in admissions and enrollment and enhancements to the student life process. She was instrumental in the establishment of the Institute for Public Engagement and several research centers.

In a Wake Forest Magazine article from June 2007, the newly named Provost Tiefenthaler said, “Liberal arts universities … have a special character. They provide students with the opportunities of a research university and the intimacy and community of a liberal arts college.”

Tiefenthaler, who has also served on the faculty as a professor of economics, continued, “They ask faculty to be productive scholars and committed teachers. But finding and maintaining the right balance requires the care and attention of the administration.”