R. J. Hinde, who has been an associate dean in the College of Arts and Sciences for more than seven years, has been appointed the new vice provost for academic affairs. He will begin his new role on August 1.
Hinde came to UT in 1994 as an assistant professor of chemistry. He became an associate and then full professor before starting his term as associate dean for teaching and diversity in the College of Arts and Sciences in 2008. In 2011, he became the college’s associate dean for academic programs.
Hinde’s leadership role with the College of Arts and Sciences aligns closely with many of the responsibilities he’ll have as vice provost. He helped restructure the college’s curricula and has worked closely with course scheduling, enrollment management, and student learning outcome assessment. He also has served on a long list of university-wide committees and task forces.
“R.J. has a commitment to academic excellence as well as a broad and deep understanding of our academic programs and curricula,” Provost Susan D. Martin said. “He will be a valuable part of the provost’s team and help us advance our Top 25/Vol Vision goals.”
Hinde said he’s excited to join the provost’s office at a time when there are so many positive initiatives under way at the university.
“The campus-wide emphasis, during the past five years, on data-driven decision making and resource allocation, on the establishment of policies and programs that support undergraduate students’ success, and on the assessment of program-level student learning outcomes transformed many aspects of the undergraduate experience at UT,” he said. “The next five years have the potential to be equally transformative.”
Hinde has a PhD from the University of Chicago and did postdoctoral work at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. In 2007, he was a visiting researcher at the University of Helsinki in Finland.
Hinde replaces Sally McMillan, who is returning to the faculty in UT’s College of Communication and Information after five years as vice provost for academic affairs.