To the University community:

A new academic year is nearly upon us. As such, I am pleased to introduce a new member of our University leadership team: Shivanthi Anandan, Ph.D., will join us Monday, Aug. 15, as La Salle’s next Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs.

Dr. Anandan brings a wealth of professional and leadership experience to our university community as our chief academic officer at La Salle.

Dr. Anandan has committed her career to the academic and professional development of students by offering an undergraduate education that propels them into rewarding and successful careers. As Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs, she will work with University leadership, faculty, and the Board of Trustees to ensure our academic programs and services reflect our mission and core values. Dr. Anandan will provide leadership to embed Lasallian charism in our academic programs; oversee curriculum, academic standards, and program creation; and promote faculty development and instructional and learning supports, among other critical responsibilities. These critical responsibilities will include the development of a vision for La Salle’s academic programs and portfolio that will be rooted in quality, rigor, and innovation to distinguish La Salle in a rapidly evolving and competitive landscape.

She arrives at La Salle after serving Drexel University since 1997, most recently as its Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education for the last four years. Dr. Anandan brought operational success to Drexel’s Office of the Provost. In her role, she oversaw undergraduate curriculum and worked with other academic units, like student life, to ensure a successful and comprehensive undergraduate experience. She established collaborative working groups across campus with deans and school and college leadership and created a strategic framework through which she and the Office of the Provost reviewed applications for new programs, and edited existing programs and courses for a web-based database. She also oversaw Drexel’s assessment and accreditation team, which led the self-study and site visit components of the university’s accreditation from the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. Dr. Anandan has served Drexel in a variety of academic and administrative roles over the last 25 years. Among them, she served as assistant dean for student affairs within Drexel’s College of Medicine and Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and Professional Studies.

Dr. Anandan studied at the University of California, Los Angeles, where she earned her Ph.D. in biology. She received a bachelor of science in botany from the University of Peradeniya in Sri Lanka.

With Dr. Anandan’s hire, I extend my sincerest thanks to all who supported this search—especially the Provost Search Committee, which was co-chaired by marketing professor and department co-chair Swee-Lim Chia, Ph.D., and Vice President of Student Development and Campus Life Gabrielle St. Léger, Ed.D. Dozens of campus partners also made significant contributions to this process, including the reservation of time in their calendars to meet with each of our well-qualified finalists.

I would be remiss if I were not to recognize and thank Lynne Texter, Ph.D., for her interim leadership of the Office of the Provost. Her willingness to again serve in this role helped facilitate our successful search, while providing strategic thinking and invaluable experience.

I look forward to welcoming Dr. Anandan into our campus community in the coming weeks as she joins us to start our new academic year.

Sincerely,

Daniel J. Allen, Ph.D.
President