Michelle Rinehart Named Tech's Vice Provost for Faculty

Michelle Rinehart, associate dean for Academic Affairs and Outreach in the College of Design, has been named Georgia Tech’s vice provost for Faculty. The newly created Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty supports and advocates for the interests of Tech’s almost 4,000 faculty members, meant to deliver an exceptional faculty experience through the recruitment, advancement, and retention of a diverse and talented workforce. Rinehart will begin her new responsibilities March 1.

Rinehart has 18 years of administrative leadership in faculty affairs and development, academic affairs, assessment and accreditation, student success, and enrollment management. She has been at Georgia Tech since joining as assistant dean in 2013, and then in 2015 associate dean for Academic Affairs and Outreach in Tech’s College of Design. She was interim dean in the College of Design from August through December 2021.

Rinehart has continued to improve tenure and promotion processes and outcomes, including developing programming for new faculty and an annual retention, promotion, and tenure workshop for faculty. She also facilitates workshops across campus to increase faculty awareness of implicit bias in faculty evaluations.

Since 2020, she has worked with administrative leadership on a variety of committees and task forces related to Covid-19, including co-chairing the Academic Space Reallocation Committee, and the Fall 2021 Planning Working Group. She also has served as a member of the Summer Planning Working Group since 2020. Additionally, she is a member of the Academic Restart Committee, a team of faculty, staff, and students charged with addressing challenges and developing solutions to ensure academic excellence throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Michelle Rinehart is an inclusive leader and innovative thinker who has served Georgia Tech well in her willingness to take on additional roles of responsibility in response to the strategic needs of the Institute,” said Steve McLaughlin, provost and executive vice president for Academic Affairs. “She is deeply committed to faculty and student success, and uniquely qualified to build and lead an exceptional program to support and advocate for the interests of all our academic, research, teaching, and administrative faculty members.”

Before joining Georgia Tech, Rinehart worked at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. from 2004 through 2013, serving as assistant dean of the School of Architecture and Planning. She was director of Public Programs at the National Building Museum, and senior project manager at the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture, both in Washington, D.C. She also worked as an adjunct instructor and program coordinator at Tulane University.

At Georgia Tech, she was selected for the College of Design’s Dean’s Award in 2021, and the Thank a Teacher Award, from the Center for Teaching and Learning, that same year. She serves as faculty advisor for the Tau Sigma Delta Honor Society and the American Institute of Architecture Students. She is also faculty co-advisor for the ABLE Alliance, an organization to improve on-campus disability inclusion, and teaches undergraduate design studios, history of architecture, introductory courses in the built environment, and special topics on career development.

While at The Catholic University, she served as academic advisor to all undergraduates in the B.S. in Architecture program. She advised two student organizations and was chosen as Faculty of the Year by the American Institute of Architecture Students local chapter. While earning her master’s at the University of Michigan, she received the Martin Luther King Jr. Spirit Award and the Horace H. Rackham Merit Award.

“I am very honored to be chosen for this new role of service and advocacy for all of Georgia Tech’s faculty,” said Rinehart. “I see the role as aligning our work with the Georgia Tech strategic plan as we collaborate, build community, and support the professional journey of faculty, taking a holistic approach to their career needs.”

Rinehart earned her doctorate in education (Ed.D.), with a focus on the role of higher education in serving the public good, from the University of Pennsylvania. She earned her M.S. in Architecture from the University of Michigan, and a Master of Architecture from Tulane University.

“We are grateful to the faculty and staff who generously shared their time and insights as they served on the search committee,” said McLaughlin. “My special thanks to Leslie Sharp, dean of Libraries, for serving as committee chair.”