James Antony, PhD

As provost and executive vice president, James Antony oversees George Mason University’s academic mission, including supporting scholarly excellence among faculty and fostering academic success for over 40,000 students on all four campuses. He joined the university in 2024 and works in conjunction with President Gregory Washington to shape and execute the university’s strategic academic priorities.  

Prior to his appointment as provost, Antony served at the University of California, San Diego where he was the dean of Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Affairs. In this role, he focused on enhancing graduate programs and supporting postdoctoral scholars. During his tenure, he initiated grant-funded programs to improve mentoring, led the transformation of graduate and professional student financial support, and helped enhance professional development for students. Alongside his administrative duties, he was a professor of Education Studies with a secondary appointment at the Rady School of Management.

Antony has held notable academic leadership roles at Harvard, Yale, and the University of Washington. From 2015 to 2019, he served as the faculty director of the Higher Education Program in the Graduate School of Education at Harvard University and co-directed the Management Development Program. At Harvard, he increased outreach and recruitment for underrepresented communities and created an undergraduate course on leadership development. As an associate provost at Yale University from 2012 to 2015, he focused on faculty development and the promotion of undergraduate student leadership.

His 17-year tenure at the University of Washington was marked by numerous leadership roles, including facilitating the development of new graduate degree and certificate programs, creating and leading the Center for Leadership in Athletics, and heading the College of Education’s higher education degree program. He also directed a program supporting minority students aspiring to graduate and professional schools.

Provost Antony’s publications focus on the development of higher education faculty, the socialization and leadership development of future college leaders, and the implementation of data-driven decision making in academic environments. He has taught courses on leadership theory, student affairs administration, leadership ethics, sociology of higher education, the history of higher education, data-based decision making, and college athletics and athletic leadership.

Education

PhD, Higher Education and Organizational Change, UCLA
MA, Higher Education and Organizational Change, UCLA
BA, Psychology, UCLA