Leadership & Team
Meet the team. The Division of Student Success is led by Senior Vice Provost Amber Williams and a team of associate vice provosts, executive directors, and senior directors who lead the units that serve every UT undergraduate scholar. Read the bios below, find a director by name or function, and reach out to the right person for your question.
Executive leadership
Amber Williams
Senior Vice Provost for Student Success & Chief Honors Officer
CliftonStrengths: Relator, Arranger, Responsibility, Strategic, Ideation
Pat Akos
Associate Vice Provost for Student Success and University Honors Department Head
CliftonStrengths: Relator, Maximizer, Ideation, Individualization, Futuristic
Patrick Biddix
Associate Vice Provost & Executive Director of the Quality Enhancement Plan
CliftonStrengths: Achiever, Relator, Learner, Ideation, Context
Laverne Harris
Assistant Vice Provost & Chief Financial Officer
CliftonStrengths: Achiever, Relator, Developer, Harmony, Responsibility
Melissa Irvin
Senior Associate Vice Provost
CliftonStrengths: Deliberative, Analytical, Learner, Intellection, Relator
Krystyne Savarese
Associate Vice Provost & Executive Director of CCDAE
CliftonStrengths: Strategic, Intellection, Individualization, Developer, Empathy
Michael Smith-Porter
Chief of Staff
CliftonStrengths: Learner, Maximizer, Input, Futuristic, Focus
Virginia Stormer
Chief Strategy Officer
CliftonStrengths: Context, Harmony, Learner, Arranger, Consistency
Adam White
Assistant Vice Provost, Transitions & Success
CliftonStrengths: Relator, Individualization, Competition, Significance, Futuristic
Department directors
Talisha Adams
Senior Director, University Honors
CliftonStrengths: Relator, Achiever, Strategic, Futuristic, Learner
Ahmedullah Aziz
Faculty Director, Academic Momentum
CliftonStrengths: Positivity, Futuristic, Responsibility, Arranger, Strategic
Sean Basso
Director, Assessment
CliftonStrengths: Competition, Achiever, Analytical, Futuristic, Focus
Phoebe Bates
Lead Director, Communications & Marketing
CliftonStrengths: Focus, Competition, Achiever, Significance, Activator
Tom Cruise
Director, Veterans Success Center
CliftonStrengths: Strategic, Individualization, Adaptability, Maximizer, Futuristic
Eugene Henderson III
Deputy Chief of Staff
CliftonStrengths: Connectedness, Restorative, Arranger, Strategic, Input
Sally Harris
Faculty Director, Career Readiness
CliftonStrengths: Activator, Learner, Context, Relator, Responsibility
Sally Hunter
Faculty Director, Volunteer Experience
CliftonStrengths: Woo, Communication, Activator, Strategic, Maximizer
Megan King
Director, Academic Success Programs
CliftonStrengths: Positivity, Futuristic, Relator, Learner, Achiever
Isabelle Langham
Director, Advising & Technology Initiatives
CliftonStrengths: Futuristic, Strategic, Ideation, Context, Restorative
Meredith Malburne-Wade
Director, Office of Undergraduate Research, Fellowships
CliftonStrengths: Input, Learner, Intellection, Activator, Ideation
Mustafa Oz
Faculty Director, Strengths
CliftonStrengths: Woo, Arranger, Communication, Analytical, Positivity
Whitney Prescott
Director, Career Coaching & Education
CliftonStrengths: Activator, Maximizer, Includer, Positivity, Woo
Jayetta Rogers
Chief Veterans Benefits Officer, Veterans Benefits Administration
CliftonStrengths: Context, Consistency, Belief, Empathy, Responsibility
Amanda Sharp
Executive Director, Academic Success Center
CliftonStrengths: Individualization, Ideation, Responsibility, Maximizer, Achiever
Ali Smith
Director, Strategic Programming
CliftonStrengths: Achiever, Relator, Strategic, Learner, Responsibility
Jenny Ward
Director, Academic & Career Exploration
CliftonStrengths: Harmony, Input, Responsibility, Relator, Learner
Katie Wiley
Director, Employer Development
CliftonStrengths: Woo, Positivity, Communication, Includer, Maximizer
Faculty advisors
The Student Success Faculty Advisory Board provides faculty feedback on Division of Student Success initiatives, helping strengthen communication, guide data-informed decisions, and advance undergraduate persistence, graduation, achievement, and career readiness.
Meet the faculty advisors
Andrew Sherfy
Distinguished Lecturer, Biosystems Engineering and Soil Science
Jules Morris
Assistant Professor of Practice, Marketing
Mike Berry
Model & Exhibit Preparator, School of Art
Bill Lyons
Teaching Professor & Associate Director of Community Outreach, Institute of American Civics
Milagros Zingoni Phielipp
Professor & Director, School of Interior Architecture
Drew Paul
Associate Professor, World Languages and Culture
Tova Holmes
Associate Professor, Physics
Kirsten Widner
Assistant Professor, Political Science
Shannon Scovel
Assistant Professor, School of Journalism & Media
Miro Hristov
Professor, COM Office of Faculty and Academic Affairs
Heeyeon Son
Assistant Professor, College of Nursing
Ashley Pennell
Clinical Assistant Professor, Social Work
Emily Homolka
Assistant Professor, Library
Joshua Bienko
Associate Professor, School of Art
Tracey Norrell
Teaching Professor, Geography and Sustainability
Have a question for the team? We’re here
Didn’t find the right name above? Make an appointment and we’ll route your question to the right person on the Division of Student Success team.