University of Utah Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Dan Reed announced that Professor Sarah Projansky has accepted an offer to serve as associate vice president for faculty.

Projansky will assume the role on Aug. 1, 2019. In her new role, Projansky will assist Reed on a variety of issues, including faculty appointments, tenure considerations, strategic planning and future policy decisions, and she will be the primary resource for faculty.

She will work closely with the Academic Senate, the Council of Academic Deans, department chairs, the associate vice president for health sciences, human resources and the Office of General Counsel.

“Sarah will play an important role in overseeing policy direction, training and mentoring initiatives that allow our faculty to excel in the classroom, the community and in advancing knowledge,” Reed said. “She has a strong background as an accomplished faculty member and administrator and is highly regarded when it comes to listening, considering multiple perspectives and weighing all options before making decisions.”

Projansky holds joint appointments as a professor of film and media arts and gender studies and is an adjunct professor of communication. She served as senior associate dean for faculty and academic affairs in the College of Fine Arts from 2013 to 2018. Projansky joined the U in 2012 from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, where she was an associate professor; while there, she served a two-year term on the university’s Senate Executive Committee and was associate chair of the media and cinema studies department. Projansky also held faculty appointments at the University of California, Davis, and at Middlebury College.

“I am thrilled to have the opportunity to collaborate with faculty, Dr. Reed and other administrators to strengthen the university and further equity and excellence,” Projansky said. “Our One U initiative recognizes the importance of bringing together faculty from many different disciplines. I look forward to supporting these and other campus efforts aimed at impact, innovation and change.”

The university conducted an internal search to fill the post, which was open to tenured faculty.

“I would like to add deep thanks Harriet Hopf for her willingness to take on this vital leadership role on an interim basis during the past year,” Reed said. “My thanks also to Margaret Clayton, Randy Dryer and Tom Richmond for leading the search committee.”