Ben Vinson will be leaving his role as dean of the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences to serve as the next provost and executive vice president of Case Western Reserve University. He will begin his new position on July 2.
“Being the dean of CCAS has been an incredible privilege and honor. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to work with and lead this amazing and talented community of scholars, students, alumni and staff. Together, we have accomplished great things and have charted a strong path for the future,” Vinson said. “As I move into a new role and an exciting professional challenge, I will forever cherish the experiences and accomplishments of our academic community. GW is a unique and special place, and will remain so in my heart.”
Dean Vinson joined GW in August 2013 to take the helm of the university’s oldest and largest college. During the last five years, he has led CCAS—with its three schools and 42 departments and programs—in providing an engaged liberal arts education that combines theory and practice and emphasizes innovative learning and interdisciplinary research in wide-ranging fields, from the hard and social sciences to the humanities and arts.
Under his leadership, CCAS integrated the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design and collaborated with the School of Engineering and Applied Science to open Science and Engineering Hall, a $275 million, 500,000-square-foot building with state-of-the-art research facilities.
Research remained a top priority during Dean Vinson’s tenure. He supported internal research funding opportunities for faculty, creating the Dean’s Research Chair Award, as well as awards for cross-disciplinary research and for faculty to jumpstart their research. Faculty continued to receive large external grants, fellowships and top recognition in their fields. Institutes also opened under his leadership, including the Cisneros Hispanic Leadership Institute and the Loeb Institute for Religious Freedom.
Programs for students such as the recently approved new majors in Neuroscience (BS) and Cognitive Neuroscience (BA) and the Global Bachelor’s Program were launched, increasing student opportunities in science, technology, engineering and math and global education experiences. During Dean Vinson’s tenure, new graduate programs that were responsive to the changing needs of the market were created. These include master’s degrees in Data Science, Leadership Education and Applied Economics. Sophomore Colloquia for students, opportunities for interdisciplinary scholarships and research, school partnerships, online courses, service learning and academic success workshops were started or grew. New fellowships and programs for graduate students were launched. Diversity initiatives were created, including a special pipeline partnership for master’s students from minority serving institutions. Philanthropy reached new college levels, with over $90 million raised in CCAS during his tenure, including several endowed professorships.
"Ben has been a wonderful partner, built a strong leadership team, promoted scholarly excellence and leaves CCAS in a position of strength on virtually every dimension," said GW Provost Forrest Maltzman. "Although I will miss working with Ben, it was inevitable that at some point he would take this step, and I wish him every success in his new role as provost."