Leadership Transition Updates: Farewell to Provost Williams and Welcoming Interim Leadership

Dear Fielding Community,

We are letting you know that Provost and Senior Vice President Wendi S. Williams, Ph.D., informed the President on January 6th that she has decided to leave Fielding effective January 20, 2025.

Please join us in thanking Dr. Williams for her significant efforts on behalf of Fielding to advance our mission over these last two years. As she has written, “The opportunity to work alongside such dedicated and passionate faculty, staff, and students has been rewarding, and I am immensely proud of the progress we have made together in just two years to advance the university’s mission.”

Some of her accomplishments include:

• Academic reorganization for institutional effectiveness and continuous improvement
• Alignment of academic affairs with the Office of Inclusive Excellence and Reflective Engagement
• Deepened collaboration with academic institutional partners
• Engagement in an academic strategic planning process inclusive of all relevant university stakeholders
• Initiation of global partnerships
• Articulation of a turnaround strategy for the university

Dr. Williams also said that she has personally appreciated the opportunity to work with many colleagues at Fielding and is confident that we will continue our evolution as a vibrant institution for graduate education in the social and behavioral sciences. We will remain proud of Dr. Williams’s professional association with Fielding, especially in light of her upcoming leadership role as President-elect of APA, where many of our faculty and students will have the opportunity to continue their connection with her.

Given the importance of stable senior academic leadership, we are simultaneously announcing the appointment of Dr. Allison Davis-White Eyes as Interim Provost and Senior Vice President. As I (Katrina) am retiring from the Presidency on January 31, 2025, and Dr. Bennett is assuming the Presidency on an interim basis, we have made this decision together.

Please join us in welcoming Dr. Davis-White Eyes into her new role. She brings a wealth of expertise and experience to the position and looks forward to serving the community in a new way. Her biography can be found here. She will serve in this role while continuing her work as Vice President of Inclusive Excellence and Reflective Engagement.

We are planning a series of town halls for our community to get to know our new leaders, ask questions, and plan for Fielding’s future together.

Please submit your questions to communications@fielding.edu.

We deeply appreciate your dedication to Fielding as we navigate this period of transition.

With kind regards,

Katrina S. Rogers, Ph.D., President
John L. Bennett, Ph.D., Interim President