Jill Fleuriet, vice provost for honors education, has been named president of Salem Academy and College in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, effective July 1. Fleuriet will be the 23rd president to lead Salem, the nation’s oldest continuously operating educational institution for girls and women.
“Jill Fleuriet has been an extraordinary academic leader and champion for students since joining UT San Antonio in 2003,” said Heather Shipley, provost and senior executive vice president for academic affairs. “Her vision, creativity and deep belief in the transformative power of honors education have shaped the Honors College in lasting ways and elevated opportunities for thousands of Roadrunners. While we will miss Jill’s innovative and collaborative spirit, we are immensely proud of her and delighted to see her talents recognized with this well-deserved appointment.”
A professor of anthropology, Fleuriet has held a leadership role in the UT San Antonio Honors College since 2017 when she was appointed associate dean. She served as acting dean from 2020 to 2021, and again from January 2023 until being appointed vice provost in June 2023.
Under Fleuriet’s leadership, the Honors College has grown to more than 3,000 students, a 120% enrollment increase over the past five years. Key to that growth has been Fleuriet’s work in partnering with deans to develop college-based honors programming across the university. The Honors College now supports honors programs in the Alvarez College of Business, College of Liberal and Fine Arts, College of Sciences and Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design. New honors programs in the College of AI, Cyber and Computing and the College for Health, Community and Policy will launch this fall.
During her tenure, Fleuriet helped reimagine the Honors College curriculum around high-impact teaching practices and experiential learning to better prepare UT San Antonio students for professional success.
She led the development of the honors curriculum and advising framework; launched the Experiential Learning Fair to showcase student research, study abroad, internships and service learning; created a dedicated transfer pathway into honors; and established a Faculty Fellows program that supports group and individualized mentoring in experiential, active and inclusive course design.
Fleuriet is one of only six UT San Antonio faculty to be selected as a fellow in the University of Texas System Academy of Distinguished Teachers, and she served as academy president from 2023 to 2025. She received the University of Texas System Board of Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award in 2017.
At UT San Antonio, Fleuriet has been recognized with the President’s Distinguished Achievement Award for Faculty Mentoring (2021), the Richard S. Howe Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award (2019), the President’s Distinguished Achievement Award for Excellence in University Service (2019), the President’s Distinguished Achievement Award for Community Engagement (2016) and the President’s Distinguished Achievement Award for Teaching Excellence (2015), among others.
“I have been profoundly honored to serve the remarkable students, faculty and staff of this university and its Honors College — a community defined by intellectual ambition, civic engagement and generosity of spirit,” Fleuriet said. “Salem’s dedication to developing purpose-driven leaders through rigorous learning, mentorship and engagement resonates deeply with the values that have guided my work in the Honors College. At the core of that work is a belief that education is a public good that cultivates curiosity, character and a commitment to serving others. I am honored for this opportunity to lead an institution so deeply committed to those ideals.”
Gina Amatangelo, associate dean for strategic initiatives in the Honors College and distinguished teaching professor in the College for Health, Community and Policy, will serve as interim vice provost until new leadership is appointed following a search process. A respected leader across the university and the UT System since her arrival in 2016, Amatangelo is known for her work in transformative teaching, faculty development, and leading new Honors College initiatives.
She has served as chair of the UT San Antonio Academy of Distinguished Teaching Scholars and as a fellow in the UT System Academy of Distinguished Teachers, which is the highest teaching honor in the UT System. She was awarded a Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award in 2021.
“Professor Amatangelo is a student-centered leader with a deep understanding of the college’s vision and trajectory,” Shipley said. “Her extensive professional experience in guiding teams, fostering community partnerships and spearheading strategic communications will allow the Honors College to maintain strong momentum during this interim period.”
