Westminster has selected Lisa Gentile, Ph.D., as the new provost for the college. Dr. Gentile, Westminster’s former dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, will begin her position on March 30.
“Dr. Gentile brings more than 16 years of academic and higher education leadership experience to the provost position,” said Steve Morgan, Westminster’s acting president. “As dean of our School of Arts and Sciences, Lisa has been an integral part of restructuring our liberal education core and has helped redesign support for our competency-based programs. Her work with STEM and underrepresented students will be a welcome addition to our team.”
Prior to serving at Westminster, Gentile was the associate dean of Arts and Sciences at the University of Richmond, where she focused on working with the community on diversity initiatives, directed academic advising and led programs to help increase underrepresented populations in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math). There she was the director of a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Undergraduate Science Education Award that focused on interdisciplinary approaches to STEM education as well as building programs to support students underrepresented in the field. Gentile received her BA in chemistry at Colgate University and her Ph.D. in biochemistry at Brown University. She also conducted postdoctoral work in biophysics, supported as a Jane Coffin Childs Postdoctoral Fellow, at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, B.C.
“I am extremely humbled and honored to be selected for this position,” said Gentile. “Westminster’s student-centered focus on active pedagogies, innovating learning strategies, as well as our work in defining and measuring student outcomes is unique among our peer institutions. I look forward to working with the community as we implement a new liberal education core, continue to explore ways to best support all of our student learners, and move into year two of the college’s strategic plan.”
As provost, Gentile will be responsible for the academic planning and assessment of the college’s academic programs, providing the overall vision for maintaining academic excellence at Westminster and overseeing all the academic components of the college.
