Office of the Provost
Academic Affairs Leadership:
As North Central’s chief academic officer, Geraty oversees the division of Academic Affairs, led by:
- Dr. Stephen Maynard Caliendo, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences
- Dr. David Green, dean of the School of Business and Entrepreneurship
- Dr. Mary Groll, dean of the School of Education and Health Sciences
- Dr. Craig Engstrom, assistant provost for faculty excellence
- Dr. Jennifer Smith, assistant provost for student success and engaged learning
- Dr. Julie Williams, associate vice president for Academic Affairs
Strategic Priorities:
The College’s Academic Affairs division is charged with ensuring the high quality of the College's educational programs. As part of that charge, the provost has designated the following as priorities for the division:
- Strengthen student retention. Lead coordinated efforts with faculty, staff, and campus partners to identify and address barriers to student persistence. This work will emphasize timely academic support, clear pathways, purposeful advising, and learning environments that help students remain engaged, connected, and on track toward graduation.
- Expand equitable access to high-impact learning. Broaden student participation in meaningful learning experiences such as student research, community-engaged learning, global education, work-integrated learning, field experiences, and other applied opportunities that connect classroom learning with real-world settings.
- Strengthen career readiness across the curriculum. Make career preparation more visible and intentional throughout the curriculum, helping students understand how their academic work builds skills, confidence, professional direction, and readiness for life after graduation.
- Build a stronger culture of assessment and continuous improvement. Support transparent, student-centered assessment practices across curricular and co-curricular programs, including clear learning outcomes, meaningful use of evidence, and shared processes that prepare the College for future accreditation and strategic planning work.
- Integrate artificial intelligence thoughtfully into teaching, learning, and operations. Partner in advancing campus-wide planning for AI literacy, ethical use, data privacy, instructional practice, and operational effectiveness, with attention to both opportunities for innovation and the responsibilities that accompany emerging technologies.
- Strengthen graduate education and explore mission-aligned academic growth. Work with academic leaders to develop strategies that sustain the quality of graduate programs while supporting appropriate faculty capacity and workload practices. Explore new programs or instructional modalities that respond to student needs, workforce demand, and institutional mission.
- Advance a healthy and sustainable faculty and staff culture. Advance efforts related to onboarding, recognition, workload, compensation review, well-being, and work-life balance so faculty and staff are positioned to do excellent work in a supportive and mission-centered environment.
- Align Academic Affairs planning with institutional strategy. Use clear communication, shared priorities, and collaborative planning structures to ensure that academic initiatives contribute to broader institutional goals, including enrollment, retention, reputation, and long-term sustainability.
These priorities are based upon NCForward, the Strategic Vision Plan set by North Central College President Gòkè-Paríolá.
Contact Information:
Contact the Office of Academic Affairs at 630-637-5353.