Board of Trustees names Dr. Aondover Tarhule as interim president 

The Board of Trustees of Illinois State University announced that Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Aondover Tarhule will assume the role of interim president, effective immediately. Dr. Tarhule’s appointment is effective through June 30, 2024.  

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Illinois State: Spring 2023

“I am humbled that the Board of Trustees has asked me to serve as interim president. I accept this great honor with humility,” said Tarhule. “The University has a long-standing reputation for excellence, and I look forward to working with my colleagues across campus to further raise Illinois State’s reputation.”  

The Board of Trustees appointed Dr. Tarhule as interim president following the departure of Dr. Terri Goss Kinzy from the office. Information regarding a presidential search will be provided by the Board of Trustees at a later date.   

“Dr. Tarhule has proven to be an exemplary leader as provost and the Board has full faith that he will be a dedicated and energetic leader as Illinois State’s interim president,” said Board of Trustees Secretary Kathy Bohn. “Dr. Tarhule brings more than 26 years of higher education faculty, staff, and administrative experience to his new role.”  

Tarhule joined Illinois State University as vice president for Academic Affairs and provost in 2020.  His immediate prior administrative appointment was vice provost and dean of the Graduate School at Binghamton University (State University of New York). Before that, he was executive associate dean and department chair in the College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences at the University of Oklahoma. In these positions, he worked on creating new academic programs, increasing student enrollment, increasing diversity, faculty retention, shared governance, and international partnerships and linkages. 

Having earned a master’s degree and a doctoral degree in geography from McMaster University in Hamilton (Ontario, Canada), Tarhule received a post-doctoral fellowship from the Canadian Science Advisory Council to conduct research at Queens University in Kingston, Ontario. Tarhule earned an additional master’s degree in environmental resources planning and a bachelor’s degree in geography both from the University of Jos, Plateau State in Nigeria. 

A broadly trained physical geographer, Tarhule has wide-ranging research interests in hydroclimatic variability, droughts, water resources scarcity, and climate information dissemination and use. His scholarly research has appeared in prestigious international journals, including Nature, the Journal of Hydrology, Remote Sensing, Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society as well as several book chapters. His efforts as principal investigator (PI) or co-PI have resulted in more than $5 million in grants from such agencies as the National Science Foundation, the United States Agency for International Development, the National Institute of Health, and the United States Geological Survey. He has served on the editorial board of the Scientific World Journal, the African Geographical Review and as guest editor on several journals, including Remote Sensing, Atmosphere, and Climate Research. 

Tarhule has served on the committees of prominent national and international organizations, including as consultant to the World Bank (Climate Risk Assessment of the Niger River Basin Sustainable Development Action Plan) and member of the Executive Committee of the Board on Oceans, Atmosphere, and Climate, Association of Public and Land Grant Universities (APLU). He is a member of the College of Mentors of the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) and executive board member of the Walker Institute, University of Reading, in England. 

NOTE: Dr. Tarhule’s name is pronounced as ON-doh-vey Tar-HOO-lay.