About the Provost

KerryAnn O’Meara is the Vice President for Academic Affairs, Provost, and Dean of the College at Teachers College Columbia University. She is a professor in the higher and postsecondary education program in the organization and leadership department. 

KerryAnn’s scholarship focuses on creating a more diverse and inclusive academic workplace. She has designed, tested, and shared evidence-based strategies to remove barriers and improve full participation for women and scholars from racially minoritized groups with particular attention to faculty hiring, retention, workload and evaluation. Drawing on insights from organizational behavior, higher education research, and behavioral economics, her work is interdisciplinary, focused on moving from research to practice. 

Prior to joining Teachers College in 2023, KerryAnn served as Professor of Higher Education, Distinguished Scholar Teacher, and Special Assistant to the Provost and to the President for Strategic Initiatives at the University of Maryland. She served as Director of the University of Maryland ADVANCE program there for ten years, designing evidence-based interventions that resulted in documented improvements in the hiring, professional growth, retention and advancement of diverse faculty, and improved workload equity in academic departments in three state systems. KerryAnn was elected to and served as President of the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE in 2020) and was chosen as a 2021-2022 American Council on Education (ACE) Fellow.

Since joining Teachers College as Provost in July, 2023, KerryAnn worked with President Bailey and TC faculty, students, and staff to develop and launch the TC Commitments Vision and Action Plan, launch Teachers College’s first winter session in 2025 and new professional development academy, and has worked with colleagues to improve TC systems for recruiting and promoting faculty.