Angela V. Olinto, a world-renowned astrophysicist and founding member of the Advisory Board of the Women’s Leadership Center at Williams Bay, will become the next provost of Columbia University starting April 1, 2024.
The appointment is recognition of Dr. Olinto’s breakthrough work as researcher, academic, mentor, and leader. Since 2018, she has been Dean of the Division of Physical Sciences and the Albert A. Michaelson Distinguished Service Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Chicago—the first woman in the history of the department to win tenure. In that role, she oversees the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Chemistry, Computer Science, Geophysical Sciences, Mathematics, Physics, and Statistics, as well as other research institutes and centers at UChicago.
Dr. Olinto is respected around the world for her work beyond the University of Chicago as well. She is the Principal Investigator of the POEMMA (Probe of Extreme Multi-Messenger Astrophysics) space mission as well as the EUSO (Extreme Universe Space Observatory) investigation. In addition, Dr. Olinto is a founding member of the Pierre Auger Observatory in Argentina and a fellow of the American Physical Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She has been an advisor to the National Academy of Sciences, the U.S. Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation, and NASA.
For her long history leading groundbreaking research, Dr. Olinto was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences in 2021.
As provost at Columbia, Dr. Olinto will serve as the university’s chief academic officer. Although a provost’s responsibilities can differ from school to school, this person typically oversees the work of a school’s faculty and students. She will become only the second woman in Columbia’s history to serve as provost, succeeding Mary Boyce, Columbia’s first female provost as well as the first woman dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science.
Dr.Olinto will be filling the seat vacated by Interim Provost Dennis Mitchell, who will resume his position as Executive Vice President for University Life and Senior Vice Provost for Faculty Advancement.
Dr. Olinto joined the University of Chicago from Fermilab in 1990 and became a faculty member in 1996. She is considered a leading researcher in the field of astroparticle physics, a branch of a science that weaves together quantum mechanics with astronomy and cosmology. At UChicago, Dr. Olinto was a member of the committee chartered in 2014 with defining UChicago’s position on freedom of speech and academic freedom. The resulting statement became known as the “Chicago Principles,” and has since been adopted by more than 100 universities.
Founded in 1754 by King George II, Columbia University is the fifth oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. It is a private research university with approximately 35,000 students enrolled. Long linked with Barnard College—a women-only institution that’s now integrated with the university—Columbia first started admitting women directly in 1983.
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