Peter West Ph.D., Appointed Associate Provost for Student Success at Adelphi

Dear Colleagues,

It is my great pleasure to announce that Peter West, Ph.D., has been appointed associate provost for student success at Adelphi, effective May 2019. Dr. West was selected following an especially competitive process that showcased his notable professional accomplishments and deep commitment to student achievement.  Dr. West currently serves as associate dean for general education and academic operations in our College of Arts and Sciences.

Student success and retention are among our top priorities for the University. Dr. West will work with students and faculty to identify creative ideas, and will develop and carry out action plans and other proactive programs to ensure student success and retention. Beginning with enrollment and orientation, followed by the critical first year on campus, Dr. West will work with departments and programs across the University to ensure that students from all cultures and backgrounds feel supported, connected and involved.

Dr. West, who also serves as co-chair of the General Education Committee and member of the Adelphi Student Success and First-Year Experience committees, has already contributed significantly to enhancing student engagement at Adelphi as a member of the Adelphi Student Success Committee and First-Year Experience Committee since 2017. In 2018, he organized and led new academic sessions at summer orientation that brought together faculty and students; at the conclusion, 98 percent of students reported that these sessions made them “more excited about working with the faculty at Adelphi.” He also worked with Residential Life and Housing to develop First-Year Living-Learning Communities focused on service learning and leadership and collaborated with a team of faculty from across campus to design, pilot, and launch a reimagined First-Year Seminar. By focusing on high-impact practices and student engagement, he dramatically expanded the budget for speakers, off-campus trips, and experiential learning, which made it possible for hundreds of first-year students to participate in more than 20 off-campus trips to museums and performances during the 2018-2019 academic year. Students who participated in this pilot program reported higher evaluation scores on questions related to taking “an active role in your own learning” and becoming “an engaged member of the Adelphi community,” and other measures.

Dr. West came to Adelphi in 2008 as an assistant professor of English and, in 2011, he was selected as chair of the English Department. Serving as associate dean for the College of Arts and Sciences since 2017, he has done an exemplary job in helping to guide the College through a period of transition, together with our esteemed Acting Dean Susan Briziarelli, Ph.D. He has long been an active and outspoken advocate of the importance of the liberal arts and the value of broad, interdisciplinary learning in the 21st century.

Dr. West has served as co-chair of Adelphi’s Middle States Commission on Higher Education Self-Study Steering Committee since fall 2016, was the Adelphi University representative at the Middle States annual conference in 2017 and 2018 and, before that, served as co-chair of our Middle States Periodic Review Report Steering Committee.

Prior to joining us at Adelphi, Dr. West served as assistant professor of English at the University of Wyoming and visiting assistant professor of English, dean’s teaching fellow, and graduate teaching associate at Emory University. He has published two major works: The Panorama: Texts and Contexts, 1787-1900 (2013), a five-volume collection that was described by The Times Literary Supplement as a “monumental collection;” and The Arbiters of Reality: Hawthorne, Melville, and the Rise of Mass Information Culture(2008), which was rereleased in paperback in 2015, as well as more than 20 scholarly publications, a book chapter, book review and Newsday op-ed. Dr. West is also actively involved in community outreach and volunteer work.

Dr. West earned his Ph.D. in English from Emory University and a bachelor of arts with honors in English from Wesleyan University.

I am quite pleased to welcome Dr. West to his new role as associate provost for student success at Adelphi and I look forward to the impact he will have on our student body. I trust you will join me in supporting him in his efforts to further nurture student success at our University!

All the best,

Steve Everett
Provost and Executive Vice President