Walter P. Rankin

Prior to beginning his tenure as Fairfield’s vice provost for Graduate, Continuing and Professional Studies, Dr. Rankin was the senior advisor to the Provost for Accreditation and Special Projects, and Deputy Dean, School of Continuing Studies (SCS), at Georgetown University. While in these current roles, he supported the School of Continuing Studies’ students, faculty and staff, working on program development and reviews, and overseeing special projects for the Office of the Provost.

During his tenure in the School of Continuing Studies, Dr. Rankin served as interim dean and oversaw the School’s graduate and undergraduate programs, launched two new graduate programs in Emergency and Disaster Management and Urban and Regional Planning, and cultivated innovation and scholarship, bringing programs online. As senior associate dean for the School’s Office of Academic Affairs and Compliance, Dr. Rankin managed all certification, compliance and accreditation-related activities, oversaw admissions, enrollment, student and faculty affairs, and graduate certification.

Dr. Rankin earned his PhD at Georgetown in 1998, and served as the deputy associate dean in the College of Arts and Sciences at George Mason University, before returning to Georgetown in 2008. He has taught at Georgetown, George Washington, Hampton, and George Mason universities, and has published extensively on literary, film and pedagogical topics.