Two Women Scholars Who Have Been Appointed to Provost Positions

Shivanthi Anandan is the new provost and vice president of academic affairs at La Salle University in Philadelphia. Dr. Anandan will oversee curriculum, academic standards, and program creation; and promote faculty development and instructional and learning supports, among other critical responsibilities.

For the past four years, Dr. Anandan has been vice provost for undergraduate education at Drexel University in Philadelphia. She had been on the faculty at Drexel University since 1997. Her research investigates how photosynthetic organisms perceive and respond to environmental signals, particularly light. She currently works on innovating devices for growing produce in the home in an eco-friendly way. She shares ownership of two patents for Garden Fresh Home, an in-home hydroponic system.

Dr. Anandan received a bachelor’s degree in botany from the University of Peradeniya in Sri Lanka. She holds a Ph.D. in biology from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Nicola Blake was appointed interim provost and vice president for academic affairs at Stella and Charles Guttman Community College in New York City. She will serve in this role at least for the 2022-23 academic year. Dr. Blake has had a 22-year career with the City University of New York and has been at Guttman Community College since 2011.

Dr. Blake is an associate professor of English at Guttman, where she has also served as dean of faculty and academic affairs, faculty advisor to the provost, and chair of the Faculty Personnel Committee, the College Personnel Committee, and the Curriculum Committee.

Dr. Blake’s research focuses on the role of narrators and narrative structure in medieval and modern literature, while her teaching and learning scholarship focuses on collaborative practices and pedagogies of engagement. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English and psychology from the City University of New York and a Ph.D. in medieval literature from Rutgers University in New Jersey.