Elizabeth Capaldi Phillips, a professor of psychology and former provost at the University of Florida, the University at Buffalo, and Arizona State University, died on September 23 at her home in Gainesville, Florida. She was 72 years old and had suffered from a rare form of brain cancer.
A native of New York City, Dr. Phillips was a graduate of the University of Rochester. She went on to earn a Ph.D. in experimental psychology from the University of Texas at Austin.
Professor Phillips had a long career in higher education. She taught at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, for nearly two decades and was chair of the department of psychological sciences and later dean of the Graduate School. She joined the faculty at the University of Florida in 1988 and served as provost there from 1996 to 1999.
In 2000, Dr. Phillips was named provost at the University at Buffalo of the State University of New York System. In 2003, she was appointed vice chancellor and chief of staff for the SUNY chancellor. Dr. Phillips then served as provost at Arizona State University from 2006 to 2013. She also served as president of the American Psychological Society.