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New Senior Vice Provost Attracted by UC s Investments in People

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4 minute read August 30, 2015

This week the University of Cincinnati Office of the Provost welcomes Eileen Strempel as the new senior vice provost for academic affairs. Strempel spent the last 15 years at Syracuse University and most recently served as assistant vice president with a wide range of academic responsibilities, including strategic planning and student success. She also served as associate dean of the Graduate School at Syracuse where she was a professor of art and music histories. 

Strempel recently completed the 15-month American Council on Education Fellows program while hosted at Colgate University. The breadth and depth of that experience gave her the tools she needed to take on a new academic leadership experience she found inspiring, which led her to UC’s Third Century. Strempel understood that success in fulfilling UC’s ambitious academic goals depends on one critical resource.   


“There is a clear focus on people,” said Strempel, who earned her Doctor of Music from Indiana University after graduating from the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester.   

A people-centered focus appeals to Strempel, a self-described “integrator.” 

“Eileen brings a whole new set of experiences to the office,” said Provost Beverly Davenport, who selected Strempel to serve as UC’s senior vice provost after an extensive national search. “She understands the work we are doing to build a successful Third Century, and she has the skills to build momentum and move us forward in creative ways.”   

Ownership, excitement and strength in integration 
Strempel credits her operatic background for her understanding of the power inherent in integrating and balancing a wide range of talents to support a single goal.   

“In opera, people listen, adjust and work together to bring a production to life,” she said. This translates when working with a range of academic and administrative partners to lead initiatives. The noted scholar of song literature specializes in the music of women composers and has performed with the New York Philharmonic and the Bolshoi Opera. At Syracuse, she was a professor of art and music histories and served as a Kauffman Foundation eProfessor.   

She has also served as principal investigator of a Jack Kent Cooke Foundation grant to assist with the transfer of community college students to four-year universities, and she is co-editing a book on national best practices that facilitate transfer success. More recently she has served as the Co-PI of a NSF-funded NOYCE grant, which aims to increase the number of science and math teachers in high-needs school districts.

Hitting the ground running, literally 
With a start date of Sept. 1, Strempel and her family have been busy settling into their new lives in Cincinnati. As her two sons started school, her husband, musicologist Stephen Meyer, began teaching classes in music history at the College-Conservatory of Music. Meyer was hired as a part of the provost’s Dual Career Assistance Program. 

Strempel, an avid runner and marathoner who completed the Boston Marathon earlier this year, has been logging miles around her neighborhood near campus. “Running is a wonderful way to explore the city and university,” Strempel said. “And so far, I’m really enjoying what I see.”

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