FARMINGTON — Kathryn A. Foster, president of University of Maine at Farmington, recently announced the appointment of Joseph P. McGinn as the University’s provost and vice president of academic affairs, effective July 1, 2014.

“We are thrilled to welcome Dr. McGinn to UMF as we are poised at the start of our next 150 years,” Foster said. “He brings an impressive combination of intellectual savvy and leadership experience to UMF. Friendly, thoughtful, professional and academically sophisticated, he is a careful listener and articulate communicator who has already shown great knowledge and enthusiasm for UMF, Western Maine and the University of Maine System.”

As chief academic officer at UMF, McGinn will provide leadership for all aspects of academic life, continue to strengthen UMF’s academic and research programs and maintain UMF’s dedication to excellence.

“I am honored and excited to be a part of UMF’s tremendous legacy as the birthplace of public higher education in Maine,” McGinn said. “I look forward to helping it continue to grow and prosper and to being an active part of the campus and the Farmington community.”

McGinn comes to UMF from Towson University near Baltimore, Md., where he served as dean of the Honors College and professor of philosophy since 2011. As dean, he worked to provide the management, leadership and vision necessary to help students succeed.

Throughout his career, he has been committed to the development of the student as a whole person, successfully contributing to a wide range of programs, co-curricular initiatives and administrative support to encourage and showcase student engagement in all forms of scholarship and learning.

Prior to his time at Towson, he served as director of the Global Honors program and professor of philosophy at Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania and assistant professor of philosophy and humanities at Penn State Harrisburg.

In addition to his background as an administrator and an educator, McGinn has a broad range of experience with many areas involved in university life, including graduate and undergraduate programs and policies, curriculum development and assessment, professional development for faculty, enrollment management, budget management and faculty recruitment.

McGinn was a Commonwealth Scholar at Edinburgh University in Scotland. He earned his Ph.D. in philosophy at the Pennsylvania State University, an M.A. in philosophy at the University of Waterloo (Canada) and a B.A. in philosophy and history at the University of Manitoba.