Brie Gertler Named Vice Provost for Academic Affairs

Brie Gertler, Commonwealth Professor of Philosophy in the University of Virginia’s College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, has been named vice provost for academic affairs, Executive Vice President and Provost Liz Magill announced today. Her appointment is effective July 1. She will retain her appointment as Commonwealth Professor.

The vice provost for academic affairs serves as a second-in-command to the provost and provides leadership and oversight of academic programs, curriculum, program planning and compliance, and manages the core academic functions of the University. 

Gertler has been a member of the UVA faculty since 2004. During the fall 2019 semester, she served as the acting dean of the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences. Prior to serving as acting dean, she held the position of interim associate dean for the College; before that, she was chair of the Corcoran Department of Philosophy.

Throughout the COVID-19 crisis, Gertler served as a member of several University-level committees and working groups, including the Fall 2020 Planning Committee. Gertler also co-directed the University’s effort to develop and launch signature courses during this year’s innovative January term.

“Professor Gertler is well-known in the University community for her strengths as an academic leader,” Magill said. “From her time as interim dean in the College to her recent service on the Fall 2020 Planning Committee, she has offered invaluable strategic counsel to the faculty and to University leadership. I am delighted she has agreed to serve in this critical position.”

Ian Baucom, Buckner W. Clay Dean of the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, echoed Magill’s praise of Gertler’s appointment as vice provost.

“Brie has excelled in every leadership role she’s taken on and will be an extraordinary vice provost,” he said. “She’s incredibly thoughtful, broad in her perspective of the University’s mission, profoundly ethically minded, and deeply collaborative. We’re very fortunate that she’ll be entering this position. I’m really looking forward to working with her.”

Gertler takes on a broadly collaborative role, working with executive and school leadership, the Faculty Senate and the Student Affairs division in advancing institutional objectives, including those identified in the University’s strategic plan. Specific responsibilities include academic program review; oversight of academic enhancement programs for undergraduate, graduate and professional students; University-wide advising and support; and all aspects of state and federal academic compliance, including accreditation by the Southern Association of College and Schools.

“I’m honored and excited for the opportunity to work with Provost Magill and our faculty, students, staff and administrators in advancing the University’s core academic mission of providing every student a world-class education,” Gertler said. “Each of our programs, whether undergraduate, graduate or professional, should develop students’ intellectual and creative capacities, expose them to new perspectives, foster their curiosity and equip them to succeed and to make meaningful contributions in their chosen pursuits beyond our Grounds.”

Gertler succeeds Archie Holmes, who joined the University of Texas System as executive vice chancellor for academic affairs in October.

Before coming to UVA, Gertler held the position of associate professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and the position of assistant professor at the College of William & Mary. Since 2017, she has served as an editor of Noûs, one of the leading academic journals devoted to the study of philosophy and its history. In her research, Gertler takes a contemporary analytic approach to addressing longstanding philosophical issues about the nature and extent of knowledge, the relation between mind and body, and the existence of free will.

Gertler earned her Ph.D. in philosophy from Brown University, an M.A. in philosophy from the University of Pennsylvania, and a B.A. in philosophy from Swarthmore College.