Becoming NIU’s next provost would be the second big win of 2001 for William Wehrenberg of Clemson University.

The first came Sunday, just as Wehrenberg arrived at the Holmes Student Center for the first of three busy days interviewing for the second-highest administrative position on campus. His Tigers beat the No. 1-ranked University of North Carolina in men’s basketball — the first big win in an otherwise-disappointing season.

NIU would not be a disappointment for Wehrenberg.

“The position at Northern Illinois looks to be a very good match between my background and skills, and their goals,” he said.

Wehrenberg, dean of Clemson’s college of agriculture, forestry and life sciences, is the first of four provost finalists to visit campus. The others, scheduled to visit in coming weeks, are John Dunn, dean of the college of health at the University of Utah; Patricia Hanna, dean of the college of humanities at the University of Utah; and J. Ivan Legg, provost at the University of Memphis.

Wehrenberg’s career included a 16-year stay at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee before accepting his current position at Clemson, in South Carolina. His experiences have lent him an understanding that he believes would help NIU.

“The provost is the senior academic official on campus, who is making sure curriculum is delivered to the students,” he said.

That means keeping in touch with student interests and needs, Wehrenberg said. Some general issues he plans to address include university funding, getting students ready for society, reaching out to non-traditional students, encouraging life-long learning and building a solid integration of student life.

“Higher education is realizing now that a learning environment is not just the classroom,” he said.

Along with his administrative duties at Clemson, Wehrenberg also teaches classes as a biology professor. He calls brain hormones one of his specific areas of study, including related fields like finding the genomes of foods.

His current work involves writing chapters for an upcoming book detailing what’s new in his field of endocrinology. Wehrenberg also is keeping an eye on the Human Genome Project, which is attempting to fully discover the specifics of DNA.

But Wehrenberg’s background goes beyond chromosomes. He was raised in Indiana and earned his bachelor of science degree in chemistry from Valparaiso University. Further collegiate stops at Purdue University and University of Wisconsin-Madison earned him a Ph.D in endocrinology and reproductive physiology in 1978.

This is Wehrenberg’s second visit to NIU. He first came to campus a few years ago to give a presentation in biological sciences.

His wife, Jane, is a certified public accountant. The couple has no children.