UT Names New Associate Provost and Dean of Academic Services

The University of Tampa has announced that Cynthia Jay (C. Jay) Pendleton has been selected as the associate provost and dean of academic services.

As associate provost and dean of academic services, Pendleton will be responsible primarily for leadership in the enhancement of student success at UT, in addition to oversight and implementation of academic rules and regulations. She will begin at UT on July 16.

Most recently, Pendleton served as the vice provost and associate professor of communication at Mercer University. In that position she led programs similar to UT’s Student Success Center, First-Year Experience and new student programs, and faculty advisor training. She also served as chair of the Associate Deans Council, coordinated the university honors program, and co-chaired an effort that has yielded a dramatic improvement in Mercer’s retention rate.

Prior to that she served as associate provost and dean of students at Texas Lutheran University, and dean of students and assistant professor at Salem College.

According to David Stern, UT provost, Pendleton stood out amidst a very strong pool of candidates due to her 15 years of leadership experience at Mercer, whose rapid growth and complexity are excellent matches for the opportunities and challenges that characterize UT.

“Her knowledge of and appreciation for student affairs and the crucial contributions they make to student engagement and success will be extremely important and valuable,” Stern said.

Pendleton received her Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in adult and higher education, a master’s degree in divinity from Duke University and a bachelor of arts in English and education from Wake Forest University.