Dean, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Department of English
B-4-232 Mackinac Hall
(616) 331-2495
[email protected]
Jennifer Drake
Biography
Jennifer A. Drake received her B.A. from Brown University and her M.A. and Ph.D. in English the from the State University of New York at Binghamton. She earned the rank of Professor in the English Department at the University of Indianapolis and has served in a wide range of posts including at the University of Indianapolis as the Founding Director of the Woodrow Wilson Indiana Teaching Fellowship Program and Dean of the Shaheen College of Arts and Sciences, and most recently as Provost and Vice-President for Student & Academic Life at The Evergreen State College (2017-2020).
She is the author of numerous book chapters and articles and was co-editor (with Leslie Heywood) of Third Wave Agenda: Being Feminist, Doing Feminism (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1997).
In her work, Jen has prioritized enhancing student engagement and success; creating and sustaining strong academic programs; supporting faculty and staff professional development; promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion; collaborating with community partners; and ensuring accountability to stakeholders.
A proponent of lifelong learning, Jen was a Fellow of the Academy for Innovative Higher Education Leadership, Arizona State University and Georgetown University, 2019-2020. She also attended the Seminar on Leadership of the Faculty: A COACHE Program at the Harvard Institutes for Higher Education, 2019. In her free moments, she exercises her love of poetry and enjoys exploring city neighborhoods and the great outdoors with her family.