Meet the New Provost

On Aug. 17, renowned researcher and leader Thomas C. Katsouleas took over as executive vice president and provost on President Teresa Sullivan’s staff, replacing John D. Simon, who became the president of Lehigh University on July 1.

During Katsouleas’ seven years as the Vinik Dean of Engineering at Duke University’s Pratt School of Engineering, engineering graduate student enrollment increased by 62 percent. Pratt launched six research centers and numerous educational initiatives, including the Master of Engineering program, under Katsouleas’ leadership.

In his new position, Katsouleas will oversee the 11 schools of UVA, the Fralin Museum of Art, three residential colleges, several University centers, the University Library, public service activities and outreach, foreign study programs and more.

Katsouleas will also become the Robert C. Taylor Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and have a courtesy appointment as a professor of physics in the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences.

“I’m excited to be joining one of the premier ‘Research I’ universities in the nation,” Katsouleas says. “UVA is a special community that values as I do the close personal interaction between outstanding students and top scholars from a broad academic spectrum and making that kind of personalized education accessible at a public scale. This is a place with an extraordinary tradition and history, but a community that is firmly focused on its future.”

Brain Food

UVA students study hard for finals, often camping out in libraries to get the job done. GrubHub, the online food-ordering service, found that food deliveries to college libraries are 154 percent more common during finals than the rest of the year. GrubHub also listed which schools order relatively more food during finals. UVA came in eighth, with an order increase of 25 percent during finals week. Virginia Tech topped the list with a 46 percent increase.

Medical School’s New Leader

A board-certified specialist in pulmonary disease and critical care medicine with expansive leadership experience,  David Wilkes  has been appointed the newest dean of the School of Medicine at UVA.

Wilkes comes to Charlottesville after 23 years at the Indiana University School of Medicine, where he served most recently as executive associate dean for research affairs.

While in Bloomington, Wilkes wore many hats, including serving as the university’s assistant vice president for research and as director of the Strategic Research Initiative for the Indiana University School of Medicine and Indiana University Health. He earned a bachelor of science degree from Villanova University, a medical degree from Temple University, completed his residency at Temple University Hospital and completed a pulmonary and critical care fellowship at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. He also served three years as a major in the U.S. Air Force Medical Corps.

Wilkes is the co-author of more than 100 research papers and is co-founder and chief scientific officer of ImmuneWorks Inc., which researches and develops treatments for immune-mediated lung diseases.

“Dr. Wilkes has demonstrated leadership and acumen in medical research and education,” President Teresa Sullivan says. “He understands the important role academic medicine plays in the life of a comprehensive research university and is well-suited to lead the School of Medicine to greater heights of excellence.”

Sullivan's New Deal

The University’s Board of Visitors has approved a contract extension for Teresa A. Sullivan, the eighth president in UVA’s history and the first woman to hold the office, through July 31, 2018.

Sullivan took office in August 2010; since that time, she has led the University through important initiatives such as the Cornerstone Plan, a five-year strategic plan to improve and enhance UVA as one of the country’s premier universities; the creation of a Data Science Institute; and the creation of the Meriwether Lewis Institute for Citizen Leadership.

“The University of Virginia is poised to make important advances leading up to its bicentennial,” Sullivan says. “As we pursue our goals and aspirations, we will continue to ensure that UVA provides a superior education that is accessible and affordable to excellent students regardless of their background. I am very grateful for the opportunity to continue to lead this remarkable institution.”

Sullivan’s leadership has also resulted in many milestones, including leading the University through a 2013 capital campaign that raised $3 billion.

The approved contract includes a provision to allow Sullivan’s successor to begin as soon as Nov. 1, 2017; and, if the Board does not select a successor before the end of the term, or if the president-select is unable to begin the presidency on Aug. 1, 2018, the Board may extend Sullivan’s term to May 31, 2019.

Swarthmore President Has Wahoo Roots

Valerie Smith (Grad ’78, ’82) is the newest president of Swarthmore College.

Smith, who received her Bachelor of Arts degree cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Bates College and her Master of Arts degree and doctorate from the University of Virginia, was announced by Swarthmore’s Board of Managers as the liberal arts college’s newest president in February. She arrived at Swarthmore after spending much of her career at Princeton University, where she began teaching in 1980. There, Smith founded the school’s Center for African American Studies and served as the Woodrow Wilson Professor of Literature, as well as a professor of English and African American studies before becoming dean of the college in 2011.

A native of Brooklyn, New York, Smith is a prolific writer, authoring more than 40 articles and three books on African-American literature, culture, film and photography and is the editor or co-editor of seven volumes. She has won numerous awards, including fellowships from the Fletcher Foundation, the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities, as well as Princeton’s President’s Award for Distinguished Teaching.