Announcement of Provost Office Appointments

May 4, 2021

Dear Colleagues:

Since I was appointed Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs in November 2020, I have been working on behalf of the Chancellor to support the academic mission of Rutgers–New Brunswick. I continue to build on the foundation of past New Brunswick Provosts, Lily Young, Wanda J. Blanchett, and Prabhas Moghe, who began the process of developing a provost’s office responsive to the needs of our faculty, students, and staff. Over the past five months, I have met with faculty, students, and administrators regarding the needs of our community. I appreciate everyone's willingness to engage in these conversations that inform my thinking and planning for the Provost’s Office.

As Provost, I am fortunate to work with an exceptional team of talented individuals to begin realizing a vision for the office to ‘foster and promote an inclusive world-class academic community, where the acquisition of knowledge inspires, transforms, and helps create a better world.’ During the past months, the Provost team has worked together to develop a mission statement and recruit talented leaders to fill vacancies in critical areas necessary in fulfilling our academic and service mission. I want to take this opportunity to thank our continuing staff for their commitment—Carolyn Moehling, Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education, and Paul Hammond, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Scheduling, Instructional Space Management, and Digital Classrooms.

After completing an internal nomination and search process, I am pleased to welcome our new Vice Provosts joining the office on July 1, 2021, supporting research, faculty development and advancement, faculty affairs, and academic affairs in the Provost's office.

Ingrid Fulmer, Vice Provost for Faculty Advancement and Faculty Affairs

Ingrid Fulmer is a Professor of Human Resource Management and currently serves as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in the School of Management and Labor Relations (SMLR). In her current role, she provides leadership to SMLR in several areas, including curriculum development for new programs and certificates; faculty development in teaching and in seeking external funding; policy review/revision and implementation guidance for faculty reappointment, promotion, and tenure; and oversight of student affairs including study abroad and international partnerships. She previously served as the Director of the Ph.D. Program in Industrial Relations and Human Resources in SMLR. Dr. Fulmer earned a Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University and joined Rutgers in 2012. She has also held appointments at Michigan State University, Georgia Institute of Technology, University of South Carolina, and the University of South Australia. An accomplished scholar who is active in the broader academy, Dr. Fulmer was recently awarded an honorary doctorate from the Faculty of Economics and Management at the University of Lucerne, Switzerland, and currently serves as an elected member of the Board of Governors of the Academy of Management.

As Vice Provost for Faculty Advancement and Faculty Affairs (VPFA), Dr. Fulmer will report to the Provost and oversee the new Center for Faculty Success developed to meet the needs of the faculty identified in the 2019 COACHE Survey. This center will implement many of the COACHE Faculty Working Group Recommendations to support the development of faculty in three key areas—leadership, faculty mentoring, and faculty career advancement. The VPFA will support the Provost in all areas related to faculty success at Rutgers University-New Brunswick. Specifically, the VPFA portfolio includes recruitment, mentoring, retention, and faculty success, including providing leadership for and oversight of programs for faculty development, mentoring, and leadership preparation, including the Big Ten Academic Alliance leadership programs. The VPFA also ensures faculty policies are up-to-date, appropriately disseminated, and effectively implemented.

Denise Hien, Vice Provost for Research

Denise Hien is a Professor in the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology (GSAPP), the Helen E. Chaney Endowed Chair in Alcohol Studies, and Director of the Center for Alcohol and Substance Use Studies. She currently serves as the Interim Dean of GSAPP. Dr. Hien received her M.S., M.Phil. and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at Teachers College, Columbia University. Over her career, she has served on the doctoral faculties of the Derner School of Psychology at Adelphi University, The Graduate Center of the City University of New York, and The City College of New York. Within each of these institutions, she has held numerous leadership roles in academic and research administration. Dr. Hien is a leading researcher in addictions, trauma, and racial and ethnic disparities. She has an impressive record of successful grant funding. Dr. Hien has sustained funding over the last 25 years from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (20 grants: 7 R01s, 1 Multi-site, and 2 R25s). Her body of work has contributed to the evidence base on the treatment of women with trauma-related psychiatric disorders and their comorbidity with addictions through conducting single- and multi-site clinical trials across the United States in community-based substance abuse treatment settings. She has a distinguished record of over twenty million dollars in grant funding in clinical trials research on addictions. She has led large, complex research projects and small pilot projects with co-investigators from multiple disciplines and across institutions.

As Vice Provost for Research (VPR), reporting to the Provost, Dr. Hien will serve as a strategic administrative partner fostering collaborations, advocating for resources, and developing communication. The VPR will develop a collaborative delivery model and integrate research activities, technology, and support services within the campus and across campuses. As a strategic partner for the Provost, the VPR will provide advice and planning for university comprehensive capital renovation projects to improve scientific and other research facilities, including analyses of scientific infrastructure that support university-wide research initiatives. The VPR will develop collaborations that promote a culture of faculty and student research, advance strategic research development, shape research administrative policies and hiring policies, processes, and standards for post-doctoral candidates, and develop relationships that may lead to funding opportunities. The VPR also has a critical role as an advocate for resources, advocating for 1) adequate infrastructure for the support of research development and 2) the maintenance and growth of the research enterprise.

Saundra Tomlinson-Clarke, Vice Provost for Academic Affairs

Saundra Tomlinson-Clarke is a Professor in the Graduate School of Education (GSE) and a licensed psychologist recognized for research incorporating interdisciplinary perspectives in developing culturally responsive interventions to enhance learning and psychological well-being. Since arriving at Rutgers University as an assistant professor in GSE in 1989, she has served the School and University in various leadership roles. Currently, she serves as chair of the Department of Educational Psychology in GSE. She is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, Society of Counseling Psychology Division 17, and the archivist for the Division. As a member of the American Educational Research Association, Tomlinson-Clarke chairs the Local Policy and Outreach Program for Division E (Counseling and Human Development). Prior to Rutgers, Dr. Tomlinson-Clarke served as a staff psychologist in the Center for Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) at The Pennsylvania State University and the University Counseling Center at Florida State University. She received her bachelor's degree from Boston University, her master's degree from Atlanta University, and her Ph.D. from Florida State University.

As Vice Provost for Academic Affairs (VPAA), Dr. Tomlinson-Clarke will support the Provost in all areas related to academic affairs and innovation. Dr. Tomlinson-Clarke's expertise in academic leadership positions her to facilitate processes on academic program development, approval, and review; development and oversight of policies and procedures in collaboration with the Provost and the Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs' (EVPAA) office; and building infrastructure at Rutgers-New Brunswick to support academic excellence across 13 academic units, two residential colleges—Douglass Residential College and the Rutgers Honors College, Eagleton Institute of Politics, Institute for Women's Leadership, Human Genetics Institute of New Jersey (HGINJ), and Waksman Institute. The VPAA will provide leadership for high-quality academic programming, teaching and learning, assessment, and program review and evaluation processes.

I also would like to take this opportunity to thank James Swenson, Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, for his service to the Provost’s Office. Among his many contributions during the past three years, Dr. Swenson has organized our faculty orientation, faculty excellence, and other awards programs, and overseen new academic program review and approval processes as well as the review process for centers and institutes. He has lent his leadership expertise to special initiatives such as convening the working groups on teaching evaluation and faculty recruitment. Thank you, Dr. Swenson, for your service to our institution, and well wishes for your future endeavors.

Please join me in thanking our colleagues and extending a warm welcome to these new appointments as we work together to realize President Holloway’s vision for academic excellence and a beloved community.

Sincerely,

Francine Conway, Ph.D.
Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Research and Academic Affairs
Distinguished Professor