Anne D’Alleva, who has distinguished herself as a creative and collaborative leader as UConn’s interim provost since spring, has been named permanently to the position.

D’Alleva, who previously was dean of the School of Fine Arts since 2015 and a UConn faculty member since 1999, will become provost and executive vice president for academic affairs effective Thursday, Dec. 1.

UConn President Radenka Maric announced D’Alleva’s appointment on Tuesday, saying her experience with D’Alleva and feedback she has received from deans, University Senate members, Board of Trustees members, student leaders, and administrators all have been strongly positive.

“What I heard consistently was a deep respect for Anne as a leader, that she brings a sense of stability, and has managed to move seamlessly into the role of provost with grace and skill,” Maric said, noting she was especially moved by a letter of support signed by all of the deans of UConn’s schools and colleges and along with statements of support from many other people and groups throughout the University.

D’Alleva became interim provost in May with the departure of previous Provost Carl Lejuez, and is the first woman in UConn’s history to hold the position.

As provost, she leads UConn’s academic enterprise and several collaborations across disciplines, schools, and colleges. She is also leading University’s succession planning in academic areas and a strategic initiative to help develop talent from within, Maric said.

D’Alleva said she was honored to serve as provost and grateful for the trust that Maric and the Board of Trustees have placed in her.

“Over the past few months, I’ve gained fresh insight into the many strengths of our university community and especially appreciate the talent, dedication, and caring of our faculty, students, and staff,” she said.

“My goal as provost is to support and enhance those strengths as we work together to educate our students for an interconnected, diverse, and rapidly changing world; expand scholarship and research across the disciplines; and serve the state and nation by addressing our most pressing problems, from health disparities to climate change,” she added. “UConn makes a difference – and with President Maric’s exceptional leadership, our impact will only grow.”

D’Alleva will play a pivotal role in UConn’s work to lead the nation in vital fields including climate change and clean energy, human rights, cybersecurity, computer science, health sciences, and several other areas in close collaboration with industry, government, and other important partners.

She is a great champion of innovative and collaborative efforts across disciplines, schools, and colleges as well as diversity, equity, inclusion, and global citizenship, Maric added.

“Anne is fully committed to our mission of recruiting and retaining a committed ecosystem of faculty, researchers, and staff who – in partnership with donors, alumni, and government leaders – contribute to providing a world-class educational experience for our students that prepares them for life’s challenges and opportunities,” Maric said.

Jeanine Gouin, a UConn Board of Trustees member who is also vice chair of the board’s Academic Affairs Committee, has worked closely with D’Alleva and praised her as someone who “brings incredible value to every interaction.”

“She is thoughtful, creative, open-minded, collaborative, and extraordinarily knowledgeable across a vast array of subjects. She also brings a depth of institutional knowledge and understanding of the intricacies of UConn,” Gouin said of D’Alleva.

“I am thrilled that the University will have the benefit of Dr. D’Alleva’s talents and expertise,” she added. “I whole-heartedly endorse this appointment. We are extremely lucky to have her in this post.”

As provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, D’Alleva will oversee UConn’s 14 schools and colleges, its four regional campuses, and a range of academic success programs, interdisciplinary research centers and institutes, academic administrative units, and other areas.

The Provost’s Office also leads University strategic planning, academic policies and procedures, academic program planning and implementation, program assessment, graduate education, global affairs, institutional research, university libraries, university information technology systems and services, and academic personnel management (including appointments and reappointments of faculty and staff, tenure and promotion, and annual evaluations).

The University Senate Executive Committee was among the many supporters who praised D’Alleva in letters to Maric.

Del Siegle, the committee’s chairman and the Lynn and Ray Neag Endowed Chair for Talent Development in the Neag School of Education, said the University Senate is excited to continue working with D’Alleva and Maric to advance the institution’s vision.

“Dr. Anne D’Alleva has been an outstanding interim provost and is an excellent permanent appointment for provost. She is a thoughtful leader with a strong commitment to student success and has a comprehensive knowledge of the UConn community,” Siegle said.

D’Alleva joined UConn in fall 1999 as a joint appointment in the programs on art history and women’s, gender, and sexuality studies. Since then, she has served in many institutional leadership roles, including as a member of the University’s Academic Vision committee.

Prior to being named dean of the School of Fine Arts in 2015, she served as the school’s associate dean and also has been head of the Art & Art History Department.

She received her B.A in art history from Harvard University, and her M.A. and Ph.D. in art history from Columbia University with a graduate certificate in feminist theory. Before joining UConn, she completed postdoctoral fellowships at Australian National University and through the Getty Foundation.

Her books Fundamentals of Art History (3rd ed., 2021) and Methods and Theories of Art History (3rd ed., 2021) have been published in multiple languages worldwide.

D’Alleva has also been an actively engaged in the American Association of Colleges & Universities, the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities, the National Association of College and University Business Offices, the College Art Association of America Inc., and other higher education conferences and programs, including academic leadership development programs through the National Association of Schools of Art & Design and Cornell University.

“Anne will intrinsically link our work at UConn and UConn Health with the broader world in which we operate and will align the University’s strategy with our mission of making a positive global impact and supporting faculty and student research interests,” Maric said.

“She will be instrumental in delivering our brand promise of giving students an education that empowers them by developing their skills in creativity, innovation, entrepreneurship, financial literacy, and emotional intelligence,” she added. “We are a caring community with a global mindset, and I cannot think of a better provost than Anne, who exemplifies our highest values.”