I write to share the news that, after seven years of dedicated service, Jessica Waters has decided to step down from her role as Dean of Undergraduate Education and Vice Provost for Academic Student Services as of June 30, 2023. She will undoubtedly continue to make a positive impact on the AU community as she rejoins the full-time faculty in the School of Public Affairs. I know that she has deeply missed, and is eager to return to, the classroom.

A double Eagle, Dean Waters earned her bachelor’s degree in CLEG and Women’s and Gender Studies and received her JD from the Washington College of Law. She joined the SPA faculty in 2008 and quickly took on increasing leadership roles, including serving as the inaugural director of the Politics, Policy, and Law Scholars Program and as SPA’s Assistant and then Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education. In July 2016, she was named Vice Provost for Undergraduate Studies and moved to the Office of the Provost. That position was later expanded to Dean of Undergraduate Education and Vice Provost for Academic Student Services as she took on oversight of academic support, disability support, and the launch of first-year advising. From the time she stepped into the role, her responsibilities have expanded dramatically. 

Throughout her tenure, Dean Waters has played a pivotal role in enhancing the AU undergraduate experience and has introduced a variety of significant programmatic and curricular innovations. Working alongside the AU Core team, she secured a unanimous vote from the Faculty Senate to approve the new AU Core curriculum and led its comprehensive implementation. Today, the AU Core encompasses more than 500 courses; earlier this year, we graduated the first class of students to pursue the AU Core in its entirety. Dean Waters also guided the recent redesign of AU’s Honors Program and the transformation of the former Mentorship Program into the highly successful AU Cornerstone. Her efforts have largely focused on the AU first-year experience; the recent U.S. News rankings, in which AU ranked #12 in the nation for first-year experience, are a testament to her work and the work of the UEAS team. Always striving for continuous improvement, she has approached her role with a spirit of collaboration, openness to feedback, and a willingness to continually iterate.  

Dean Waters is known for her open-door policy with students and for her deep commitment to student support. Over the past few years, she has proposed and implemented dozens of changes to academic policies and regulations that promote student wellness and advance equity. She has also led efforts to provide equitable opportunities to students, including chairing the Summer Enrollment Task Force (which led to the expansion of summer need-based aid) and creating on-ramps for sophomore and transfer students into Honors and Scholars programs.  

Dean Waters has made important contributions to the President’s Council and Deans’ Council throughout her tenure and played a key leadership role in AU’s Covid-19 pandemic response. Since her days on the RiSE leadership team, she has also championed AU staff and worked to break down silos, including advocating for adjunct teaching opportunities for staff members. Dean Waters has forged collaborative working relationships within Academic Affairs, regularly bringing together undergraduate associate deans and academic advising leads from all of AU’s schools and colleges, as well as academic advisors from across the university, and establishing strong partnerships with colleagues in the Office of Campus Life and other campus units. Since the university adopted the Changemakers for a Changing World strategic plan, she has co-led the implementation for strategic imperative three, focused on providing a first-rate student experience, alongside Traci Callandrillo and Sharon Alston, and has co-led, with Amanda Taylor, the Disabled Student Thriving workstream.   

Despite the many demands on her time, Dean Waters has remained active in research, advocacy, and teaching in the area of reproductive rights. She is often called upon to provide expert commentary on related issues and plans to continue her public engagement moving forward.

On a personal note, I have been consistently impressed with Dean Waters’ dedication to her role and to her alma mater. I am deeply grateful for her creativity, wisdom, good humor, and partnership over the years. 

Please join me in thanking Jessica for her extraordinary service and wishing her well with the next stage of her career at AU. We will launch a search for the next Dean of Undergraduate Education in the near future.