By Kylie Lancaster\/\/ <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hood College officials announced the appointment of Paige Eager as the provost and vice president of academic affairs on March 16. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Eager, who has taught at Hood for 20 years, has served as the interim provost since July 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Eager said one of her primary focuses now is the Middle States Commission on Higher Education visit for the college\u2019s reaccreditation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey\u2019re coming for three days, March 29 to April 1,\u201d Eager said. \u201cThen, hopefully, we will be reaccredited or reaffirmed for another eight years.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Eager also plans to hold a listening tour, where she will go around campus and listen to what\u2019s on people\u2019s minds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Further into the future, Eager said the college may need to create a third school. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe have this kind of hybrid structure right now at the college where we have, you know, probably about half of our academic departments nested or folded into two schools,\u201d Eager said. \u201cThe rest of the academic departments still aren\u2019t under school structure, so I think that\u2019s definitely something I\u2019d like to work on.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
There is no timeline for this, but Eager said she would like to initiate this project in the next three years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Eager also intends to meet with coaches to discuss athletic recruitment and retention and begin building relationships with local community colleges to create a pipeline between Hood and these schools. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Eager said she is excited and also nervous about her appointment as provost. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s always good to have a bit of nerves,\u201d Eager said. \u201cI\u2019m excited too, honestly, because my son\u2019s going to be …coming fall as a freshman.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Eager said that this appointment came at a great time for her family as she and her son will be starting new chapters of their lives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The provost said her goal is to see Hood thrive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI really think Hood is a special place, and sometimes people don\u2019t know about Hood, even if they\u2019ve lived in Frederick their whole life,\u201d Eager said. \u201cI kind of want to make it a situation where people can\u2019t not know about Hood.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Eager expressed her appreciation to those who were part of the process that led to her appointment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI would just like to say that I\u2019m really honored to be selected for this position on a permanent basis,\u201d Eager said. \u201cI really appreciate the work of the search committee, you know, even though I was an internal candidate, they asked me a lot of great questions.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The provost also acknowledged that her job becomes a team effort to make decisions that are best for the college and the students. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEven though it\u2019s a one-person job in some ways, it\u2019s always a team effort, no matter what initiative or what project we\u2019re trying to work on,\u201d Eager said. \u201cI would just like to reinforce that it\u2019s really a team of talented people that make this college work and function.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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