HYDE PARK — The director of Argonne National Laboratory, Eric Isaacs, was appointed the new provost of the University of Chicago on Thursday.
Isaacs, a physicist at the university, will replace Thomas Rosenbaum, another physicist at the university.
When Isaacs takes over for Rosenbaum in two weeks, he will oversee 13 academic divisions, including the nation’s top-ranked business school according to Bloomberg Businessweek, and more than 2,000 faculty members, including four Nobel laureates in economics.
“It is both exciting and humbling to take on this role at a time of such tremendous momentum, with a faculty that continues to grow in number, distinction and innovation across the academic spectrum,” Isaacs said in a prepared statement.
He replaces Thomas Rosenbaum, who is leaving the university after six years as provost to become the president of the California Institute of Technology.
Isaacs, like Rosenbaum, is a professor of physics at the university. He joined the faculty in 2003 and has served as director of Argonne since 2009. Before coming to the University of Chicago, he worked at Bell Laboratories for 15 years.
“Having known Eric since his days at Bell Labs, it is clear to me that he will be a formidable advocate for these values and ambitions,” Rosenbaum said in a prepared statement.
Rosenbaum will step down as provost on Dec. 14, but will continue to serve on the faculty through June.
