Chancellor Appoints Fonteyn as New Provost

By Anne-Marie Kent

On April 3, Chancellor Gora announced the appointment of Paul J. Fonteyn as provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs. Fonteyn is currently dean of graduate studies at San Francisco State University (SFSU)—the largest in the California State University system. He will begin his tenure at UMass Boston in August.

“Dr. Fonteyn brings to our campus a wealth of expertise,” said Gora. “He has a strong record of academic vision, leadership, and advocacy; extensive teaching and mentoring experience; and a commitment to the urban mission of this campus.”

For Fonteyn, “August can’t come too soon.” He says, “UMass Boston is a university on the move. The chancellor and the faculty and staff all share a common vision of making the university the best it can be. I truly believe that UMass Boston can become one of the top urban public universities in the nation.”

In addition to his positions as dean and associate vice president at SFSU, he has held the positions of director of federal relations and interim director of development, and served on the board of directors for the SFSU University Foundation and the Romberg Tiburon Center for Environmental Studies.

Fonteyn has extensive teaching experience and a strong record in conceiving, promoting, and supporting programs for diverse students. He is the principal investigator on grants totaling over $6 million to create community science centers in impoverished neighborhoods. He also led the development of a collaborative multi-year program to promote higher graduation rates among minority students majoring in science, math, and engineering.

As she welcomed Fonteyn, Gora thanked Interim Provost Arthur MacEwan for his service: “His concern for academic values, his dedication to the university mission, especially the undergraduate curriculum, and his sense of fair play have all been a daily pleasure for those working with him.”

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