Gretchen Ritter

Gretchen Ritter, a leading expert in the history of women’s constitutional rights and contemporary issues concerning democracy and citizenship in American politics, is the Vice Chancellor, Provost and Chief Academic Officer at Syracuse University.

Ritter joined Syracuse University in October 2021. She previously served as the Executive Dean of the College and Arts & Sciences at The Ohio State University. As the chief academic officer for the largest college of arts and sciences in the United States, she was responsible for the academic success and research excellence of more than 17,000 undergraduate students, 2,300 graduate students and 1,300 faculty. The College of Arts & Sciences includes 38 academic departments and schools, more than 20 centers and institutes, and more than 80 major programs. Her accomplishments include restructuring the research portfolio and incentives to return more facility and administrative cost to programs, expanding grant management support and creating a new college-wide research advisory council. She reorganized the office of curriculum development and undergraduate education and secured faculty approval for the university’s new General Education requirements. She also secured the single largest individual donation in the college’s history.