Dr. Monica Baloga Tabbed As New Provost At Limestone College

After conducting an extensive, nation-wide search, Limestone College found its new Provost in the Sunshine State.

Dr. Monica Baloga will step into the role on February 1 of 2020, after leaving her current position as Senior Vice President for Academic Administration at the Florida Institute of Technology, where she has served for the past 23 years.

As Limestone’s Provost, Baloga will serve as the chief academic officer with responsibility for planning, development, implementation, coordination, review, and administration of all academic programs and support services.

Baloga will replace long-time Provost Dr. Karen Gainey, who is retiring from that post in December and will join Limestone’s English faculty next spring. 

“Dr. Baloga is a proven academic leader and her impressive experience, energy, creativity, and passion fits perfectly with the vision and the strategic mission of Limestone,” said President Dr. Darrell Parker. “She brings a strong academic leadership reputation as well as the commitment to quality academic program development and student support in and out of the classroom. She has a background in undergraduate studies on a traditional campus and through online and evening programs. She also has vast experience working with graduate programs, which is a major emphasis at Limestone as we prepare to move to university status in a few months. We look forward to welcoming her as a Limestone colleague and working with her to advance our academic offerings.”

The top three Provost candidates, including Baloga, visited Limestone earlier this month. Each candidate’s visit included a tour, meetings with campus leadership and staff, and an open forum with faculty, in which candidates spoke and answered questions.

Baloga was unanimously supported by the search committee and the candidate who received the most positive support from all corners of the campus community, Parker said.

“I am thrilled to be joining the Limestone family,” Baloga said. “During my visit, I was so impressed with the beautiful and charming campus. I received such a warm greeting from the entire campus community, and it was immediately clear that there is such a positive energy there. The people were so incredibly nice and open. That really sealed the deal for me.

“Part of the reason I was drawn to Limestone was its ‘Drive To University’ initiative,” she continued. “It’s obvious that Limestone has a wonderful foundation, and that it has a campus community ready to make amazing things happen in the future. I look forward to working with the administration, faculty, staff, and students to build upon Limestone’s momentum. I am excited to be a part of its bright future.”

Limestone’s “Drive To University” got underway in April of 2018 when unanimous approval was recently given by the Board of Trustees to begin taking steps to move to the status of a university by the fall of 2020, which coincides with the liberal arts institution’s 175th anniversary.

At her institution in Melbourne, FL, Baloga directed operations and activities of academic services and administration, including online and off campus education, graduate programs, international partnerships, student success units, honors college, the registrar, and the library. She also directed the development and implementation of academic policies, while directing institutional research and effectiveness, assessment, and strategic planning.

From 2016-2019, Baloga held the title of Senior Vice President for Academics and Provost. She started at the Florida Institute of Technology in 1996 as an Assistant Professor of Chemistry. Baloga became the Dean of Graduate Programs in 2012. She has also served there as Accreditation Liaison, Assistant Provost for Accreditation & Assessment, Assistant Vice President for Instructional Compliance & International Programs, Vice President for Instructional Effectiveness & International Programs.

Baloga earned her Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and worked as a Merck Postdoctoral Fellow while at Colorado State University. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from the University of Tennessee at Martin, where she minored in Biology.

At Florida Institute of Technology, she has chaired several committees, including Academic Panel, President’s Competency-Based Education Task Force, Quality of Life, Academic Program Assessment, and Administrative and Academic Program Assessment. 

“Daily, I am motived by the ideals exemplified in academic life – excellence in pursuit of teaching, scholarship, and service. I have committed myself to furthering faculty improvement opportunities in both academics and research, to student success initiatives that increase their holistic development, and to creating opportunities for staff and faculty advancement in leadership roles.”

Baloga is a native of Camden, TN. She and her husband, Bruce Furrow, have a daughter, Abigail. Baloga has seven brothers and sisters, including one sister who lives in nearby Shelby, NC.