Georgina Dopico was named NYU’s new provost on Tuesday after holding the position in an interim capacity for nearly two years, ending a seven-month international search for a new chief academic officer.
“Given NYU’s academic momentum, the wonderful colleagues with whom I work, our presence in New York and across the globe, there is nowhere else I would rather be,” Dopico told WSN. “I am grateful to President Mills and the search committee for their faith in me. I will work hard to live up to that faith, and look forward to working with our faculty, students, staff and administrators.”
Dopico — a faculty member in the Spanish and Portuguese Languages and Literatures department since 2000 — was also named the Arts & Sciences’ dean for the humanities in 2016 before her appointment as interim provost in August 2022. In the last two years, Dopico helped spearhead several projects at NYU, including an initiative aimed at helping migrants seek asylum, the university’s climate change initiative and NYU Reads. She also helped the university navigate through the COVID-19 pandemic.
Angela Chou, the recently appointed chair of the Student Government Assembly, said the student government had voiced its hopes for the next provost to prioritize the “development of artificial intelligence and technology,” enhance resources for graduate research and ensure greater financial transparency regarding funding across NYU’s schools.
“It is invaluable to have a provost who not only oversees these critical areas, but also actively listens to and engages with students,” Chou wrote to WSN. “The role of provost is critical for student success and it is our hope that Dopico shares SGA’s mission to ensure that student concerns and feedback are heard and addressed.”
Former NYU president Andrew Hamilton appointed Dopico as interim provost after the university’s last provost, Katherine Fleming, stepped down to take over as president and CEO at J. Paul Getty Trust. In the search, which started in December, individuals either applied for the position or nominated someone else, according to Isaacson, Miller — the search firm that assisted in the process. The firm then selected three final candidates for Mills to consider. NYU also used the search firm to appoint Hamilton in 2016 and President Linda Mills last year.
The provost serves as the university’s chief academic officer and helps senior leadership oversee all academic departments. They are also responsible for helping manage the allocation of financial resources to individual academic programs as well as supervising deans and program directors.
In February, the Provost Search Committee held two virtual listening sessions where several attendees, most of whom were faculty members, said they’d like to see a new provost with a non-academic or political background and the ability to collaborate across NYU’s departments.
A university spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
Update, June 18: This article has been updated with a statement from NYU provost Georgina Dopico.
Contact Yezen Saadah at [email protected].
