(May 18, 2018) — Bowie State University today announced the selection of DeBrenna LaFa Agbenyiga, UTSA Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School, as its next Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs.
As dean, Agbenyiga created a new organizational structure for the UTSA Graduate School, streamlined the admission process, improved recruitment efforts and expanded the university’s graduate program offerings. Today, UTSA offers 69 master’s degree programs, 24 doctoral degree programs and 30 graduate-level certificates to more than 4,200 students across seven colleges.
Agbenyiga also established the Graduate Tuition Assistance Program and Presidential Distinguished Research Fellowship, which provide financial support to newly admitted doctoral students and terminal master’s students at UTSA, and the UTSA Graduate Student Professional Development Center, a multipurpose space where students and alumni network, have access to advising services and prepare for their future careers.
“I am grateful to Dean Agbenyiga for her leadership in graduate education at UTSA and for putting a strong foundation in place for this important area of our knowledge enterprise. Because of her work, UTSA will continue to recruit and educate the brightest graduate students and earn acclaim as a nationally recognized research university.” said UTSA President Taylor Eighmy. “She will be missed, but we know this is a marvelous opportunity for her to passionately serve a new institution as Provost. We wish her the very best at Bowie State University.”
Agbenyiga will begin her new role on July 9, 2018. As Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, she will serve as Bowie State’s chief academic officer responsible for overseeing the academic and research enterprise of the university, ensuring the quality of the faculty and student body, and maintaining educational excellence.
Prior to joining UTSA, Agbenyiga was associate dean for graduate studies and inclusion in the College of Social Science at Michigan State University from 2012 to 2015. She has also conducted extensive global research, particularly in Africa, spanning spans organizational culture, international social and economic development, community development and sustainability, women’s rights, children’s rights, gender-based violence, cross-cultural learning, and diversity.
President Eighmy will appoint a search committee and launch a national search for the new dean of the UTSA Graduate School this summer.
