Wendy Hensel was named provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Georgia State University in Atlanta. She has served in the post on an interim basis since July 1.
As provost, Hensel is the chief academic officer, reporting to the president. She oversees the development and implementation of the university’s academic programs and policies, supervises the university’s deans and associate provosts, and directs international initiatives, graduate policy and programming, institutional effectiveness research and reporting, strategic planning and assessment of learning outcomes and academic programs.
Hensel directs activities in the recruitment, hiring, retention and promotion of faculty, and will help direct efforts to implement ways to increase faculty diversity and inclusion. She also develops and manages the portion of the university budget allocated to academic programs and functions, and represents Georgia State in academic affairs activities at the state and national levels.
Prior to serving as interim provost, Hensel served as interim and full dean of the College of Law from 2017 to 2019, as well as the first associate dean for research and faculty development from 2012-2017.
Hensel is a nationally recognized expert on employment discrimination and special education. Her scholarship has appeared in leading books, peer-reviewed publications and law reviews, and her work has been cited by courts, media outlets and scholars nationally and internationally. Hensel practiced labor and employment law with the law firm of Alston & Bird, litigating discrimination cases and counseling Fortune 500 companies on compliance with the Americans with Disability Act.
Hensel is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Michigan State University, where she earned a Truman Scholarship, one of the highest national honors awarded to undergraduates. She earned her juris doctorate with honors at the Harvard Law School. She then clerked for U.S. District Court Judge Orinda Evans in the Northern District of Georgia.