Interim Appointment – Vice Provost for Academic Affairs

Dear colleagues,

In April, I announced the departure of Greg Heileman, vice provost for Academic Affairs, and launched a search for an interim appointment. Following a comprehensive process, Amy Kimme Hea has been selected to serve in this role and will begin her appointment on August 3. 

Dr. Kimme Hea brings more than a decade of leadership experience at the University of Arizona, most recently serving as senior associate dean for Academic Affairs and Student Success in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences. In that role, she led efforts in curriculum, enrollment management, student success, advising and graduate studies. Dr. Kimme Hea also helped launch SBS contributions to Arizona Online and Arizona International programs and advanced initiatives focused on high-impact practices in education, student retention and degree completion.

She has been a member of the Department of English faculty since earning her doctorate in rhetoric and composition from Purdue University in 2001 and has held key leadership roles in the U of A’s Writing Program. An accomplished scholar in rhetoric, composition and technology studies, she is widely recognized for her excellence in teaching, research and dedication to the field.

Nationally, Dr. Kimme Hea has served in executive roles on the Council of Writing Program Administrators and the Consortium of Doctoral Programs in Rhetoric and Composition. At the University of Arizona, she sits on the advisory boards for the Center for University Education Scholarship, where she is a founding member, and Vertically Integrated Projects. Earlier this year, she was selected as a Provost Fellow for the Success for Every Student as part of the Academic Success Goals initiative.

I would like to thank the advisory committee for their service throughout the internal search process, which drew an impressive pool of candidates from our campus community. I am grateful to the following committee members for their time and dedication: Jeremy Vetter, associate professor of history and member of the graduate faculty; John Pollard, dean of the W.A. Franke Honors College; Christine Salvesen, chief retention officer and associate vice provost for Student Success; and Alex Underwood, university registrar.

Please join me in welcoming and congratulating Dr. Kimme Hea as she steps into this interim role. I look forward to partnering with her to advance our commitment to the academic success of our students.

Sincerely,

Jenna Rickus
Senior Vice Provost

This email was sent to senior leaders, deans, assistant/associate deans, department heads, Provost Integrated Leadership Team, Academic Affairs Division employees and College of Social and Behavioral Sciences employees.