Dear Colleagues:
It is my great pleasure to announce that Stephanie J. Rowley will become Teachers College’s next Provost, Dean of the College and Vice President for Academic Affairs, effective July 1, 2019. Dr. Rowley currently serves as Associate Vice President for Research (Social Sciences and Humanities) at the University of Michigan’s Office of Research. She is also Professor of Psychology at U-M’s College of Literature, Science, and the Arts.
An eminent scholar, Dr. Rowley is a consummate institution builder with a record of success in uniting great minds to develop innovative approaches and solutions to society’s pressing challenges. As a research administrator at U-M, Dr. Rowley has ensured the participation of social scientists and humanists in key, multi-disciplinary University initiatives. One signature example is Mcity, a $26.5 million project in which the university is working with a consortium of 59 automotive and other companies to further develop autonomous vehicle technology and fully think through its long-term societal implications. The Mcity test facility is an actual small city on the U-M campus that’s used to test-drive autonomous vehicles.
Dr. Rowley also previously chaired U-M’s Department of Psychology as well as its Combined Program in Education and Psychology. In those roles, she worked closely with faculty to improve grant writing and to remove barriers to conducting productive research.
In her own scholarship, Dr. Rowley has explored how social experiences, attitudes and beliefs influence the ways in which parents socialize their children, and how that socialization process in turn affects children’s motivation in school. In particular, she has looked at the issue of how racial affirmation and self-awareness affect self-esteem and resilience in African Americans.
Dr. Rowley will succeed our current chief academic officer, Thomas James, who has rendered outstanding service to Teachers College over the past 12 years. Among his many achievements Tom has spearheaded the hiring of more than 70 faculty, launched the Provost’s Investment Fund and other endeavors that have fostered more innovation and collaboration at the College, and served as a model of graciousness, decency and mutual respect. I personally am grateful to Tom for the guidance he has provided me during the first year of my presidency. And I’m very glad to report that, following a well-earned sabbatical, he will remain at the College as a Professor and co-director – with Ansley T. Erickson, Associate Professor of History & Education – of TC's Center on History & Education.
I am confident that Dr. Rowley will prove to be an academic leader who will build on Tom’s accomplishments by helping us make the most of our many strengths and by deepening and expanding our already vibrant connections to our surrounding community and external partner organizations.
Please join me in welcoming Dr. Rowley to our Teachers College family.
Thomas Bailey
President, Teachers College