Introducing the Rutgers–New Brunswick Office of the Provost

September 6, 2023

Dear Rutgers–New Brunswick Community,

We offer you warm wishes at the start of the academic year and are pleased to introduce you to the Rutgers–New Brunswick Office of the Provost. Its structure is the result of efforts over the past two years to determine the most effective way to allocate resources to support faculty advancement and student success and to develop the infrastructure to sustain academic excellence that reflects a Top 20 public research university and member of the Big Ten Academic Alliance.

As you may know, the Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs is the chief academic officer of Rutgers–New Brunswick, reporting directly to the Chancellor. The provost provides leadership for the faculty in academic planning, policies, and practices. The provost serves on the University’s Promotion Review Committee and recommends and approves all promotions, retentions, special hires, tenure decisions, and new appointments to the faculty. The provost works with a dedicated team of vice provosts to oversee research and scholarship, develops initiatives to stimulate excellence in scholarly productivity and teaching on the campus, and manages the administrative practices associated with academic support services for students and faculty.

The Rutgers–New Brunswick Office of the Provost consists of five main areas: faculty affairs, academic affairs and academic initiatives, graduate education, undergraduate education, and research.

Faculty Affairs:

Victoria Banyard has been appointed Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs effective October 1, 2023, succeeding as VPFA following Laura Curran’s departure from Rutgers University. Dr. Banyard joined our faculty in 2018 and is a Distinguished Professor in the School of Social Work, where she served as Associate Dean for Faculty Development. Dr. Banyard is a core faculty member in the Center for Research on Ending Violence. In addition to her role as Vice Provost, Dr. Banyard will continue to contribute to excellence in research, teaching, and service as faculty in the School of Social Work. Dr. Banyard also served as a Provost Fellow in 2021-2022. She will oversee our faculty initiatives that promote faculty success across the career lifespan. Several initiatives in the support suite of faculty services were inspired by the faculty job satisfaction surveys that Rutgers–New Brunswick completed in partnership with the Harvard Graduate School of Education Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education (COACHE). These faculty services are located in the Center for Faculty Success located at 24 College Avenue, with a grand opening to be announced during the 2023 fall semester.

Academic Affairs and Academic Initiatives:

Academic Affairs

David Shreiber has been appointed Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, effective October 1, 2023. Dr. Shreiber is a Professor of Biomedical Engineering in the School of Engineering. He joined the full-time faculty at Rutgers in 2002 as an Assistant Professor. He has served as the chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering since 2017 and was previously the director of the Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School joint graduate program in biomedical engineering. He is also the director of the National Science Foundation (NSF)-sponsored Research Experience for Undergraduates program in Cellular Bioengineering. In the Vice Provost role, Dr. Shreiber will provide leadership for high-quality academic programming, teaching and learning, assessment, and program review and evaluation processes. He will support the provost in all areas related to academic affairs and innovation; facilitate processes on academic program development, approval, and review; develop and oversee policies and procedures in collaboration with the provost and the Office of the Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs; and build infrastructure at Rutgers–New Brunswick to support academic excellence across the academic units and residential colleges.

Academic Initiatives

The Rutgers–New Brunswick Academic Master Plan (AMP) has laid out a path for the growth and development of scholarly communities that introduce academic programs that are new, interdisciplinary, and innovative. The provost’s office welcomes Jason Geary, appointed Senior Vice Provost for Academic Initiatives, effective September 1, 2023, to provide leadership for academic initiatives resulting from the AMP. Dean Geary will continue to serve as Dean of Mason Gross School of the Arts while devoting half of his time to the Office of the Provost. His expertise in integrating the arts and humanities will be particularly valuable as we continue to build collaborative scholarly communities aligned with the AMP. Dean Geary is a Distinguished Professor and has been active in several leadership roles since joining Rutgers in 2020 as dean. He previously served the University of Maryland as director of the School of Music, a professor of musicology, and special advisor to the dean for the arts in the College of Arts and Humanities.

Graduate Education:

Mark Gregory Robson became the inaugural Associate Vice Provost for Graduate Education and Dean of the School of Graduate Studies (AVP-GE and Dean of SGS), effective August 1. This role encompasses new initiatives focused on graduate student success, the graduate student experience, and graduate student belonging—including the Graduate Education and Student Support Initiative, part of our implementation of the AMP. He will oversee and advocate for the well-being of all Rutgers–New Brunswick graduate students, increase the visibility of graduate education, and expand our graduate education-related partnerships with the State of New Jersey. Dr. Robson is a Distinguished Professor and Extension Specialist in Plant Biology and Board of Governors Distinguished Service Professor in the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences. He has served in various leadership roles including director of the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, associate director of Rutgers Cooperative Extension, executive director of the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute, and assistant dean of student affairs.

Additional changes to the Provost Leadership Team strategically align the roles and responsibilities with the Academic Master Plan and our strategic priorities and initiatives, and streamline reporting and supervising structures.

Undergraduate Education:

Carolyn Moehling, Senior Vice Provost and Vice Chancellor for Undergraduate Education, previously served as Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education and has been a Rutgers–New Brunswick leadership team member since July 1, 2020. Dr. Moehling is a Professor in the Department of Economics, School of Arts and Sciences (SAS), having joined our faculty in 2006, and previously served SAS as Associate Dean of Undergraduate Education. She will continue to support the success of our diverse and highly qualified undergraduate students by promoting innovative teaching excellence in undergraduate education and advancing student success. Her scope of responsibilities has significantly expanded as she leads the development of new student support initiatives to achieve the goals of the AMP. Dr. Moehling has been working closely with Professor Kathleen Scott, chair of our Discovery Advantage initiative, on the holistic reimagining of the undergraduate experience to ensure students are supported in their well-being and sense of belonging and are prepared to succeed academically and in their post-graduation endeavors. She also leads student success initiatives, including 15+ to Finish, which expand access to higher education and connect students with the support they need to achieve on-time graduation with minimal debt.

Research:

Denise Hien, Senior Vice Provost for Research, previously served as Vice Provost for Research and has been a Rutgers–New Brunswick leadership team member since July 1, 2021. Dr. Hien is a Distinguished Professor at the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology, inaugural holder of the Helen E. Chaney Chair in Alcohol Studies, and Director of the Center of Alcohol & Substance Use Studies (CAS), joining the faculty as CAS director in October 2017. She will lead strategic partnerships in New Brunswick, fostering collaborations, advocating for resources, and developing communication to promote a culture of faculty and student innovative and inclusive research. Dr. Hien will serve as the point of contact for the Office of the Vice Provost for Research, supporting our centers and institutes, conducting strategic planning for university-wide research initiatives and priorities, and supporting the work being led by Jean Baum, Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology in SAS and Vice Provost of Life Sciences Research and Partnerships. Dr. Hien will continue leading Rutgers–New Brunswick and its cross-campus and chancellor-led units’ research infrastructure development.

Please join us in welcoming these outstanding leaders to their new roles. Together, our community will continue to achieve new heights of excellence to support our mission of excellence in education, research, and service.

Sincerely,

Saundra Tomlinson-Clarke, Ph.D.
Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
Rutgers University–New Brunswick

Francine Conway, Ph.D.
Chancellor and Distinguished Professor
Rutgers University–New Brunswick