Office of the Provost
The Provost is the College's chief academic officer, responsible for academic and faculty affairs, and reports to the President.
About the Provost's Office
The Provost oversees all Academic Departments/Programs and Schools, the Athletics and Physical Education Department, the Health Professions Advising Office, and the Office of Sponsored Research.
The Provost also works with the Committee on Appointments, the Committee on Academic Priorities and is an ex officio member of the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee.
In the Provost's Office Section...
Our Team is Here to Help our Faculty Thrive
PROVOST
Dee Matthews
Provost and Professor of Creative Writing
The provost plays a central role in the academic life of a college. Key responsibilities include guiding and collaborating with the faculty on academic strategy, managing all aspects of faculty recruitment, nurturing, and professional development, and continuing to enliven and celebrate the academic vitality in teaching and research that is core to the college's mission. The provost collaborates closely with the deans of the Undergraduate College, the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, and the Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research to support exceptional academic experiences for our undergraduate and graduate students.
About Provost Matthews
Airea D. Matthews is a poet, educator, and interdisciplinary thinker whose work explores the intersections of language, economics, race, and social policy. She is the author of Bread and Circus (Scribner, 2023), a memoir-in-verse that received the 2024 Los Angeles Times Book Prize in Poetry, the PEN Oakland Josephine Miles Award, and was a finalist for the Hurston-Wright Legacy Award. Her debut collection, Simulacra (Yale University Press, 2017), won the 111th Yale Series of Younger Poets Prize.
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FACULTY
Associate Provosts
Leslie Cheng
Associate Provost for Academic Development, Professor of Mathematics
- Curriculum Oversight and Academic Quality (360 Coordinator; Tri-Co Philly Coordinator; STEMLA Program Coordinator; Quantitative Center Director; Writing Center Director)
- Assessment, Accreditation, and Program Review
- Operational and Strategic Curriculum Planning
Office Hours
By Appointment Only | Taylor 109
About Associate Provost Cheng
Leslie Cheng is a mathematician specializing in harmonic analysis. Her current research focuses on oscillatory and singular integrals. She earned her A.B. degree from 51¶ÌÊÓƵ and her M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in mathematics from the University of Pittsburgh. From 2018 to 2023, she was the Rachel C. Hale Professor in the Sciences and Mathematics.
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Roberta Ricci
Associate Provost for Faculty and Research Development, Professor of Transnational Italian Studies on the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Chair in the Humanities
- Partnering with the Committee of Appointments ex officio (Faculty Reappointment, Tenure, Promotion)
- Partnering with Faculty Grants and Awards Committee
- Partnering with Faculty Welfare Committee
- Faculty appointments and re-appointments of Interim Faculty
- Communications Contact with the Provost's Office
Office Hours
Thursdays, 3-5 p.m. | Taylor 109
About Associate Provost Ricci
Educated at the University of Pisa and Johns Hopkins University, Ricci is the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Chair in the Humanities. Her research approaches Medieval and early modern literature from a philological and paleographical perspective, with attention to its recovery of classical antiquity. From the monograph on epic poems in dialogue with their Latin and Greek sources, her studies developed toward a philological investigation of Renaissance humanists as remarkable commentators and mediators of Antiquity and Late Antiquity.
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Deans of the Graduate Schools
Lisa Saltzman
Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Professor of History of Art, and Emily Rauh Pulitzer ’55 Chair in Modern and Contemporary Art
Lisa Saltzman is the inaugural Emily Rauh Pulitzer ’55 Chair in Modern and Contemporary Art and serves as the Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. A specialist in postwar and contemporary art, as well as the history and theory of photography, her work is animated by questions of history, memory and the ethics of representation. Saltzman is the author of three monographs – Anselm Kiefer and Art after Auschwitz (1999); Making Memory Matter: Strategies of Remembrance in Contemporary Art (2006); Daguerreotypes: Fugitive Subjects, Contemporary Objects (2015) – and the co-editor, with Eric Rosenberg, of the volume Trauma and Visuality in Modernity (2006).
Read Dean Saltzman's Extended Biography
Janet Shapiro
Dean of the Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research, Mary Hale Chase Professor in the Social Sciences (Social Work and Social Research) and Director of the Center for Child and Family Wellbeing
MA, MSW, PhD, Dean and Professor at the GSSWSR. Her research interests focus on the translation of developmental research to applied issues of practice relevant to indicators of child and family wellbeing. She has co-authored several books and book chapters on the application of neuroscience to clinical work with children and adolescents, including two editions of "Neurobiology for Clinical Social Work: Theory and Practice".
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STAFF
Charity Alinda
Special Assistant to the Provost for Strategic Global Initiatives and Director, International Student & Scholar Advising
- Immigration Support for Faculty and Staff. Provide guidance and strategic support on immigration matters affecting international faculty, scholars, and staff.
- Support Strategic Global Initiatives that strengthen 51¶ÌÊÓƵ’s global engagement, partnerships, and international priorities.
- Federal Regulations & Compliance. Monitor federal immigration policies and regulatory developments and provide guidance on their implications for the College and its international community.
- Support the development and strengthening of international partnerships and cross-campus collaborations that advance 51¶ÌÊÓƵ’s academic and global priorities.
About Charity Alinda
Dr. Charity Alinda is the Director of International Student and Scholar Advising at 51¶ÌÊÓƵ and a Fulbright Scholar. In this role, Dr. Alinda works closely with international students and scholars from around the world, providing guidance and advocacy to support their success. He serves as the College’s primary liaison with key U.S. government agencies—including the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the Department of State (DOS), and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
Eric Blumenthal
Interim Associate Provost for Finance & Administration
- Oversees budget management, reconciliation, and financial planning processes for assigned cost centers.
- Provides supervision and support for administrative staff serving the Academic Division.
- Partners with the Provost's Office on academic planning, resource allocation, and implementation of institutional priorities.
- Serves as a point of coordination among faculty, department chairs, and administrative offices to address operational issues and advance projects.
About Interim Associate Provost Blumenthal
Eric Blumenthal is a higher education executive and chief financial officer with nearly 40 years of leadership experience at public and private colleges across Oregon, Tennessee, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. Most recently, he served as Interim Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration at the University of Tennessee Southern. Previously, he was Executive Vice President of Administration and Finance at Portland Community College, overseeing finance, facilities, capital planning, auxiliary services, and public safety.
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Richie Gebauer
Dean of Student Success
- Leads and shapes the Student Success division by providing strategic direction, supervising key student-success units, overseeing operations, and using data and assessment to strengthen programs, policies, and services.
- Advances a comprehensive advising and student-support ecosystem by overseeing the advising, academic support, access services, study abroad, fellowships, and college-wide initiatives that help students thrive academically and personally.
- Champions student academic success, persistence, and holistic support by identifying students facing academic or personal barriers, coordinating individualized support, and building a proactive culture of retention and student success.
- Builds partnerships across the College by collaborating with faculty, academic departments, institutional research, enrollment management, student life, and other campus partners to identify student needs and develop coordinated solutions.
Read Dean Gebauer's Extended Biography
