Provost John Jackson Jr. announced two new vice provost positions for graduate and undergraduate education to assist the University’s administrative leadership and oversight.
The Wednesday announcement named Russell Composto — the current Bozza Family Faculty co-director of Penn First Plus — as vice provost for undergraduate education, and Kelly Jordan-Sciutto — the current associate dean for graduate education — as vice provost for graduate education. The new positions, which are both set to begin on July 1, will “assume many of the administrative and oversight roles of the Deputy Provost and the Vice Provost for Education,” according to the announcement.
“By creating these expanded new faculty leadership roles, dedicated separately to graduate and undergraduate education, we aim to recognize and address the specialized needs of our different groups of students,” Jackson said of the two positions.
Composto — “a pioneer of polymer science,” according to the announcement — has been at Penn since 1990 and served as associate dean for undergraduate education of the School of Engineering and Applied Science from 2015-23. He was also named Bozza Family Faculty co-director of P1P — the University’s hub for first-generation, lower- and middle-income undergraduate students.
He has been awarded the Provost’s Award for Distinguished Ph.D. Teaching and Mentoring, the Geoffrey Marshall Mentoring Award of the Northeastern Association of Graduate Schools, and the Ford Motor Company Award for Faculty Advising. He is also the co-director of an initiative part of the National Science Foundation Research Traineeship Program, which encourages innovative training models for STEM students in new, interdisciplinary research areas.
He studied as an undergraduate at Gettysburg College and received both a master’s degree and a Ph.D. from Cornell University.
Jordan-Sciutto first came to Penn in 2001, and has served as associate dean for graduate education and director of biomedical graduate studies in the Perelman School of Medicine since 2017, and associate dean for organizational effectiveness in the School of Dental Medicine since 2022.
Her research on brain inflammation and neurodegenerative diseases has earned her national recognition, including the 2024 Lifetime Service Award from the Society on NeuroImmune Pharmacology. She received a bachelor's degree from Villanova University and a Ph.D. from Thomas Jefferson University.
RELATED:
Meet Kathleen Brown, the historian at the helm of the Faculty Senate
Deputy Provost Beth Winkelstein to depart Penn, named next provost at Northeastern
Jordan-Sciutto was originally slated to serve as a member of the consultative committee to advise the appointment of a vice provost for education but withdrew from the committee to become a candidate.
Jackson emphasized his gratitude for Deputy Provost Beth Winkelstein and rest of the committee who helped appoint the two vice provosts.
Winkelstein — who was reinstated to her position as deputy provost in January — will leave the University to serve as provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Northeastern University effective Aug. 22.
“I am delighted to welcome two of our most dynamic and innovative educators to these important new leadership positions,” Jackson said. “Both are former first-generation college students with decades of experience at Penn, who are widely respected across campus for their leadership of interdisciplinary educational initiatives, strong collaborative skills, and longtime focus on teaching, mentoring, and advising students at all levels.”
