There's no standard path to or from the provost's office

Most provosts were some level of dean before taking on the role, and they usually either return to the faculty or ascend to the presidency upon leaving that position, according to data compiled by The Chronicle of Higher Education.Of 201 current and former provosts surveyed across 60 Association of American Universities member institutions on their roles over the last decade, the majority were white, about three-fourths were male and about half had STEM Ph.D.s.Provosts often see their career opportunities split, forcing them to choose between staying close to faculty (possibly even conducting research) and taking on more administrative tasks. While more than 100 were deans prior to becoming provosts, 47 became faculty members and 41 became college presidents after leaving the provost's job.