Hawaii Pacific’s first provost comes from Georgia college

Hawaii Pacific University has named Matthew Liao-Troth as its first provost to help manage and oversee the 7,500-student private university.

Liao-Troth is interim provost and vice president of academic affairs at Georgia College & State University, a public liberal arts university near Macon. He will join HPU on July 15.

Liao-Troth previously was dean of the business college at Georgia College, and before that chairman of the management department and director of graduate business programs at Western Washington University in Bellingham, Wash.

He holds a master’s degree in management and policy and a doctorate in management, both from the University of Arizona. He also earned an M.B.A. from San Diego State University.

Before his work in academia, Liao-Troth served as a division executive with Boy Scouts of America, according to a news release Thursday.

“As Hawaii Pacific University implements a strategic plan marked by ambitious goals in improving the university’s academic performance and reputation, we need a provost who understands the organizational demands of such an undertaking,” HPU President Geoffrey Bannister said in a statement.

As provost, Liao-Troth’s main duties will include management and administration of HPU’s faculty, academic organization and academic programs.

“For a university such as ours, with the complexities of two campuses, academic programming at six military bases … and enrollment of 7,500 students … the position of provost will be a demanding one,” HPU spokes­man Todd Simmons added. “There is the added complexity of being the first in this position” for HPU.