Four Women Who Have Been Appointed to Provost Positions

Kelly Bidle has been named provost and vice president of academic affairs at Rider University in New Jersey. A faculty member for over two decades, she has served as dean of the university’s College of Arts and Sciences since 2019. She has held several leadership roles throughout her long tenure, including chair of various strategic planning committees and NCAA faculty athletics representative. In her scientific research, she examines the molecular and genetic adaptations used by microbes to survive in extreme environments.

Dr. Bidley received her bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University in New Jersey and her doctorate in molecular and cell biology from the University of Maryland.

Helen White has been appointed provost of Haverford College in Pennsylvania. Holding the title of William H. and Johanna A. Harris Professor in environmental studies and chemistry, she has been serving as the college’s associate provost for curriculum development and research. Earlier, she was director of the Koshland Integrated Natural Sciences Center. Her scholarship explores the persistence of human-derived compounds in the marine environment, specifically those from oil and plastic waste.

Dr. White holds a master’s degree in chemistry with a minor in American studies from the University of Sussex in England. She earned her Ph.D. in chemical oceanography from a joint program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

Beverly J. Warren has been selected to serve as interim provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Virginia Commonwealth University. Her appointment marks a return to the university, where she previously served as provost from 2011 to 2014. Prior to that role, she held a wide-range of leadership positions with VCU, including dean of the School of Education and head of the division of health, physical education, and wellness. More recently, she served as president of Kent State University in Ohio from 2014 to 2019.

Dr. Warren is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She holds a master’s degree from Southern Illinois University, a doctorate in administration of higher education from the University of Alabama, and a Ph.D. in exercise physiology from Auburn University in Alabama.

Jeannette E. Riley has been named provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at the University of New Hampshire. She comes to her new role from the University of Rhode Island, where she has been serving as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. Before joining the University of Rhode Island faculty in 2017, she spent 15 years with the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, serving in roles such as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, academic director of online education, and chair of the department of English.

Dr. Riley received her bachelor’s degree in English from Colby College in Waterville, Maine, a master’s degree in English from the University of New Hampshire, and a doctorate in English from the University of New Mexico.

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