Dr. Stephanie J. Rowley, associate vice president for research in the University of Michigan’s Office of Research, has been named the next provost, dean and vice president for academic affairs at Teachers College, Columbia University, effective July 1.
Rowley will succeed Dr. Thomas James, who served as the college’s chief academic officer for 12 years.
“Stephanie Rowley is an eminent scholar and a consummate institution builder with a record of success in uniting great minds to develop innovative approaches and solutions to society’s pressing challenges,” said Teachers College president Dr. Thomas Bailey. “I am confident that Dr. Rowley will help us make the most of our many strengths and deepen and expand our already vibrant connections to our surrounding community and external partner organizations.”
Throughout her scholarship, Rowley has explored how parents’ social experiences, attitudes and beliefs affect the ways that they socialize their children, and how that process affects children’s motivation in school, according to a Teachers College release.
Rowley received a bachelor’s degree in psychology and African American Studies from the University of Michigan and a Ph.D. in developmental psychology from the University of Virginia.
“Bringing together people from public policy, history, philosophy, psychology and other fields has been a great learning experience for me,” Rowley said. “It’s really helped me to understand that different schools and programs have different cultures, and that interdisciplinary work is really all about leveraging those cultures.”