May 22, 2019
Dear Members of the Carnegie Mellon Faculty,
I am pleased to announce that Jeanne VanBriesen has been appointed as our university's new Vice Provost for Faculty, effective July 1, 2019.
Jeanne is the Duquesne Light Company Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Engineering and Public Policy, as well as Director of the Center for Water Quality in Urban Environmental Systems (Water QUEST) at Carnegie Mellon. A member of our faculty since 1999, Jeanne's depth of experience and commitment to high standards of excellence, as well as her exceptional leadership as Chair of the CMU Faculty Senate, position her well to take on this critical role of providing support and resources to faculty and academic administrators across the university.
Under Jeanne's leadership, the Vice Provost for Faculty Office will continue to focus on establishing long-term and effective diversity, inclusion and equity strategic plans, so that we can retain world-class scholars and wide-ranging perspectives in all of Carnegie Mellon's fields and disciplines. She will work with me to oversee all areas of faculty affairs, with particular focus on recruitment and retention; the reappointment, tenure and promotion process; academic human resources issues; faculty development; academic unit hiring plans; and, she will serve as a liaison to faculty-related university committees.
I also wish to express my profound gratitude to Kathryn Roeder, the UPMC Professor of Statistics and Life Sciences, who has served since 2015 as the university's first Vice Provost for Faculty. Recently elected to the National Academy of Sciences for her achievements in research, Kathryn plans to return full-time to her distinguished career as Professor of Statistics and Data Science in the Dietrich College.
During her tenure as Vice Provost for Faculty, Kathryn oversaw the creation of numerous initiatives and services that have vastly improved interconnectivity and career growth within our faculty community. These outstanding successes have included: convening the Faculty Committee on Diversity, Inclusion and Development (FCDID); fostering an ongoing university-wide commitment to achievable faculty diversity, inclusion and equity goals at each college; implementing new INDICATOR guidelines for diversity representation in prestigious opportunities on campus; launching the Dual Career Program for faculty recruitment; expanding and redesigning our supportive incoming faculty orientation and summer leadership workshops; and, starting the Presidential Postdoctoral Fellowship Program.
Carnegie Mellon is committed to attracting and retaining the best and brightest faculty and researchers, while supporting their scholarly pursuits and teaching needs every day. To ensure that these efforts are being met, I look forward to working with Jeanne and Kathryn in the coming months to plan a successful transition within the Vice Provost for Faculty Office. In the meantime, please join me in thanking Kathryn, and congratulating Jeanne on her new appointment.
Regards,
James H. Garrett, Jr.
Provost
Thomas Lord Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering