Ellen Granberg today was announced as the next provost at the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York. She begins her new role in mid-August.
Granberg joined Clemson in 2001 shortly after earning her doctorate in sociology from Vanderbilt University and rose to the position of chair of the department of sociology and anthropology in 2012. She held that position until May of 2015 when she became Clemson’s first associate provost for faculty affairs, later to be promoted to senior associate provost.
“Ellen has done a superb job as a faculty member, department chair and academic administrator, and is most deserving of this outstanding opportunity,” said Clemson Provost Bob Jones. “Throughout her career at Clemson, Ellen has exemplified the very best of the university through her keen intellect, collaborative working style and commitment to continuous improvement.
Added Clemson President Jim Clements: “We’re going to miss Ellen dearly, but RIT is getting a star.”
Granberg earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from the University of California at Davis and spent 11 years working for Pacific Bell in the San Francisco Bay area as a project manager and technical director in software development. In 1995, she left industry to pursue advanced degrees, leading to her Ph.D. in sociology from Vanderbilt.
“I am extremely excited about the opportunity at RIT, but always will be indebted to all my great colleagues at Clemson,” Granberg said. “It has been an honor to have played a small part in helping Clemson grow into one of the nation’s top public universities, and I’ll be eagerly watching for more great work out of my Clemson friends and colleagues in the future.”
RIT is a private university with more than 18,000 students enrolled across nine colleges. Founded in 1829, RIT is one of the nation’s top 100 universities – public or private – as ranked by U.S.News & World Report.
“Dr. Granberg was chosen from a truly outstanding pool of candidates, a testament to RIT’s ability to attract impressive academic talent,” said RIT President David Munson. “Ellen comes to us with the highest recommendations and a sterling reputation as a talented, dependable, committed, collaborative leader. She helped Clemson raise its profile and now she will bring that expertise to RIT and help propel our university into the future.”
President Clements and Provost Jones tapped Granberg to help lead the work related to the creation of ClemsonForward, Clemson’s 10-year strategic plan, which was rolled out in 2016. Since the launch of the plan, Granberg has been instrumental in working with the president and other leaders from across the university to ensure that consistent progress is being made toward the goals outlined in the plan, Jones said.
She also has helped lead Clemson’s efforts to revamp faculty hiring, putting in place new search procedures and an enhanced post-doctoral pipeline program that resulted in increasing the number of underrepresented faculty.
To sustain momentum in academic affairs, a short-term associate provost appointment will be announced later this summer to be followed immediately by an internal search for a permanent successor, Jones said.
