From the office of Georgia State University President Mark Becker, November 16, 2018:
Dr. Risa Palm, the university’s senior vice president for academic affairs and provost since 2009, will step down as provost at the end of the academic year and return to the faculty.
As chief academic officer of the university, Dr. Palm has led the development and implementation of the university’s academic programs and policies over the past decade. Under her leadership, she directed efforts to execute the ambitious goals and initiatives under the university’s Strategic Plan, along with strategic faculty hiring initiatives, including the Second Century Initiative and the Next Generation Program. Through these efforts, Georgia State has built a national reputation for innovation in student success, teaching, academic programs, research and scholarship.
Dr. Palm’s profile for scholarly research is unmatched in her field. An urban geographer, she and her colleagues are addressing one of the most critical challenges facing the world during this century: climate change. Her research into political attitudes toward climate change, and how framing of climate change can change those attitudes, has garnered major interest in her field and in the national and international press.
As Provost Palm prepares to transition back to the faculty, I am also moving the reporting line of Dr. Douglass Covey, vice president for student affairs, from Provost Palm to Dr. Timothy Renick, senior vice president for student success. This change will further enhance our already noteworthy commitment to our students and their success at Georgia State.
A national search will be conducted for Dr. Palm’s successor. The university’s search committee will be co-chaired by Dr. Renick and Wendy Hensel, dean of the College of Law. Other members of the committee will be announced in the near future.
Prior to joining Georgia State, Dr. Palm was provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs at the State University of New York.
Dr. Palm’s previous administrative positions include associate vice chancellor for research and dean of the Graduate School at the University of Colorado at Boulder, dean of the Colleges of Arts and Sciences at the University of Oregon and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and executive vice chancellor and provost at Louisiana State University.
She has held tenured positions at the rank of professor in departments of geography at the University of Colorado, the University of Oregon, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Louisiana State University. She is an accomplished and noted researcher in urban geography, natural hazards response and urban housing.
Dr. Palm earned a bachelor of arts degree in history, with a minor in French, and a bachelor of science degree in social studies education from the University of Minnesota. She earned master of arts and doctor’s degrees in geography from the University of Minnesota.
Mark Becker
President