Introducing Vice Provost for Faculty Colleen M. Ryan

May 23, 2024

Dear members of the Tufts community,

I am pleased to announce that, following a national search, Colleen M. Ryan, Ph.D. has been appointed vice provost for faculty. Her appointment is effective July 1, 2024.

As vice provost for faculty, Colleen will oversee the Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty, which aims to support faculty at all stages of their careers by promoting a culture of faculty success, collaboration, and work-life balance. Colleen will lead efforts in partnership with the schools to ensure the successful recruitment, retention, and development of faculty across the university.

A seasoned leader with a passion for mentorship and professional development, Colleen received a Ph.D. in 20th-century Italian literature/film studies from Indiana University, an M.A. in Italian language and literature from Middlebury College, and a B.A. in French and government from the University of Notre Dame.
In her latest role as an associate vice provost in the Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty and Academic Affairs at Indiana University Bloomington (IUB), Colleen leads several initiatives, including the campus-level Tenure Advisory Committee and the Initiative for the Advancement of Women. She also oversees, in collaboration with the Institute for Advanced Study, a mid-career faculty mentorship program. Most recently, she led university efforts to conceive and launch a conflict management and mediation services program.

Colleen currently holds the rank of professor of Italian in the Department of French and Italian at IUB, is an affiliate faculty member in the Department of Gender Studies, and was the director of undergraduate studies for Italian from 2015 to 2023. Her areas of expertise include Italian cinema and literature, gender and sexuality studies, curriculum development for foreign languages, and Italian American/Italian diaspora studies. She has received multiple teaching awards, published widely across her various research interests, and held numerous leadership/prominent roles in service to the university and the profession. At Tufts, she will hold a tenured faculty appointment in the Department of Romance Studies in the School of Arts and Sciences.

I am grateful for the critical role played by the search committee throughout the search process. They contributed a significant amount of time and insight in helping us find the right person for this role.

I look forward to Colleen joining us at Tufts. I invite you to learn more about Colleen in her interview with Tufts Now. This fall, we will host welcome receptions to provide you with the opportunity to meet Colleen in person—more information will be forthcoming.

Please join me in welcoming Colleen as our new vice provost for faculty beginning in a few weeks.

Warm regards,
Caroline

Caroline Attardo Genco
Provost and Senior Vice President