Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs C. Cybele Raver has announced reappointments for Douglas Christiansen, vice provost for university enrollment affairs, and Tracey George, vice provost for faculty affairs and professional education, beginning July 1, 2024.
“I am thrilled to see Doug and Tracey continue in their pivotal roles,” Raver said. “Their unwavering commitment to academic excellence and innovative leadership has significantly enhanced our university, and I am confident that their reappointments will further strengthen our institution’s future.”
Opening the doors to opportunities for applicants
Since joining Vanderbilt in 2006, Christiansen and his excellent team within University Enrollment Affairs have sustained an impressive streak of achievements. From 2019 to 2023, entering class applications increased from 37,310 to 46,248, and the admit rate (a measure of selectivity) decreased from 9.1 to 6.1 percent. Students enrolling at Vanderbilt continue to be among the most academically qualified in the country based on measures including academic rigor, class rank and standardized test scores. Moreover, over the past five cycles (entering Class of 2019 to entering Class of 2023), enrolled classes have included increasing levels of diversity across many factors: the percentage of underrepresented students has increased from 42.1 percent to 50.1 percent; the number of female students in the School of Engineering first-year class increased from 42.1 percent to 53.0 percent; the percentage of Pell grant recipients increased from 17 percent to 23 percent from 2019 to 2023; and the percentage of first-generation students (first generation in their families to attend college) increased from 8.6 percent to 16.6 percent.
Socioeconomic diversity has also been of continuing importance, and Christiansen is proud of leading his team in developing Opportunity Vanderbilt to eliminate barriers to access and opportunity regardless of a student’s ability to pay. Since 2009, Opportunity Vanderbilt has awarded $2.6 billion in financial aid. During his previous term as vice provost, Christiansen also was instrumental in creating two additional Posse cohorts—a second cohort in New York and a new cohort in Houston; increasing the number of students enrolled through the QuestBridge National Match program from an initial 20 students to 60; and representing Vanderbilt as a founding institution in the STARS College Network, a coalition to improve higher education access and outreach for small town and rural students. Christiansen also serves as co-chair of the STARS initiative.
Close to home, Christiansen is thrilled about Vanderbilt’s newly minted partnership with Metro Nashville Public Schools, called Nashville Vanderbilt Scholars. Launching with the admissions cycle for first-year students entering Vanderbilt in fall 2025, the program offers a direct cost scholarship to MNPS students who meet certain criteria. In addition to scholarship funds, Vanderbilt will lend research expertise and assistance to ensure high school counselors, teachers, administrators, students and parents have the tools to help students navigate the college search and admission process, whether at Vanderbilt or another institution.
“It’s rewarding to be part of each student’s college journey as they enter Vanderbilt. In particular, Opportunity Vanderbilt, the new MNPS Scholars, Posse, Vanderbilt QuestBridge and STARS programs are especially meaningful to me because they’re opening wider the doors to becoming a ’Dore,” Christiansen said. “These programs and initiatives are giving people opportunities, and our team gets to be part of that. Not only are we changing whole trajectories of people’s lives, but they, in turn, are making our campus community better by diversifying the chorus of voices at Vanderbilt.”
In his next term, Christiansen will be focused on developing an AI framework and implementation plan within each UEA office and leading the enrollment strategy for the new College for Connected Computing, among other initiatives. But in accomplishing those goals, he’s quick to credit the dedication of the University Enrollment Affairs team. “Being reappointed has given me the ability to continue doing what I love, working with a superb group of people. It’s also given me the opportunity to continue to refine some of the successes we’ve had and take them to the next level,” Christiansen added.
Supporting faculty success and advancing professional education
As vice provost for faculty affairs and professional education, Tracey George and her team work to support the success of Vanderbilt’s faculty from hiring to retirement, as well as to advance the university’s world-class professional education offerings. With more than 20 years on Vanderbilt’s faculty, she brings a deep understanding of the faculty experience, both as a researcher and educator, to her work.
Named vice provost for faculty affairs in 2019 after serving as the interim vice provost the previous year, George has overseen numerous accomplishments throughout her term in the areas of faculty, institution and crisis management. Along with launching the Office of Faculty Development, she created and implemented new faculty onboarding and academic leadership training and managed the search for six new deans. She also launched the accreditation office and the Office of Digital Education, which includes Vanderbilt Online.
In 2023 her portfolio expanded to include professional education.
Under Vice Provost George, the Office of Faculty Affairs and Professional Education oversees a wide range of vital functions, including faculty appointments; faculty development; academic program review, assessment and accreditation; and the new Institute for the Advancement of Higher Education, which encompasses learning innovation and education design and development. Vice Provost George also oversees dean reviews and searches and a range of faculty-facing processes, including hiring, tenure review and discipline.
“Just as Vanderbilt faculty thrive on the strength of their collaboration and sense of belonging, I am proud to lead a team that is deeply and collectively committed to the success of our faculty and professional education programs. It is an honor to serve another term as vice provost.”
In addition to serving as vice provost, George holds the Charles B. Cox III and Lucy D. Cox Family Chair in Law and Liberty, with a secondary appointment in political science. This fall she will co-teach the new undergraduate introduction to law course, alongside Chris Guthrie, dean of Vanderbilt Law School.
