E. Jane Martin, who served as dean of West Virginia University's School of Nursing for 15 years, has been appointed interim provost, the university announced yesterday.

Her appointment was announced by Mike Garrison, university president.

Dr. Martin, 73, most recently served as senior adviser to the vice president for health sciences.

She fills the post held by Gerald Lang, who resigned as provost after an independent panel determined that university officials fraudulently awarded a master's degree to West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin's daughter.

The Office of the Provost is responsible for the administration of academic policies and programs.

"I see this as an opportunity to give back to my university at a very challenging time," Dr. Martin said. "WVU has been very good to me. I was an undergraduate in nursing and in the College of Arts and Sciences in the 1960s, I remained close to my colleagues here throughout my professional career at other universities, and I was truly happy with the tremendous opportunity I had to come back home and lead the School of Nursing."

Dr. Martin's teaching career began at Ohio State University, where she earned a master's degree in English and taught undergraduate English courses for four years.

After completing her doctorate, she taught for 30 years at the master's and doctoral levels at the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Akron and WVU. At Pitt, she was an associate dean and led the doctoral program in nursing. At Akron, she was dean of nursing.