Announcing the New Vice Provost for Faculty

Dear CMU Faculty Members:

I am pleased to share that following a comprehensive internal search, Dr. Shelley Anna has been selected as the next vice provost for faculty, effective July 1, 2023. 

Dr. Anna currently serves as a professor of chemical engineering and associate dean for faculty and graduate affairs and strategic initiatives in the College of Engineering (ENG). She also holds courtesy appointments in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Department of Physics. 

In her role as associate dean, Dr. Anna has served as a collaborative senior leader in ENG, taking a holistic approach to overseeing graduate and faculty affairs in the college, building partnerships across the university and advancing strategic priorities and new initiatives, including co-chairing ENG’s 2023 strategic plan development. In faculty affairs, Dr. Anna has worked to ensure an equitable reappointment, promotion and tenure process and navigated the significant and lasting impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on faculty development. Dr. Anna, in collaboration with Dr. Alaine Allen, ENG’s associate dean for diversity, equity and inclusion, and their counterparts at two other universities, won the National Science Foundation Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate Project ELEVATE grant, which focuses on establishing an inclusive and equitable culture and infrastructure that supports faculty success. 

Prior to joining the university as a faculty member in 2003, she received her bachelor’s degree in physics from Carnegie Mellon, and master’s and doctoral degrees in engineering science from Harvard University. Dr. Anna has published several highly cited papers, has had her technologies adopted commercially and is recognized as a fellow of the American Physical Society. 

As vice provost for faculty, Dr. Anna will serve an initial three-year term, providing counsel as a senior academic leader overseeing academic policies related to faculty affairs and offering support and resources to faculty and academic administrators across the university. The Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty leads a number of important programs, including: faculty appointment, review, retention and promotion; faculty professional development programs; the dual career program; diversity and inclusion programs for faculty; faculty leaves; and Incoming Faculty Orientation. Dr. Anna will serve as the primary liaison for the Faculty Senate, collaborate with colleagues on postdoctoral and graduate student affairs, and will support the creation of a new academic ombuds office for faculty and students.

I extend my gratitude to Dr. Molly Steenson for her leadership in this position since 2021 and congratulate her on her next opportunity. She brought a great deal of expertise and enthusiasm to this role, and I am grateful for the groundwork she laid to ensure the position’s continued impact and success. I appreciate her ensuring a smooth transition as Dr. Anna takes on the role of vice provost for faculty.

Please join me in congratulating Dr. Anna on her new appointment

Sincerely,

Jim Garrett
Provost and Chief Academic Officer