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Agnes Scott College announces new vice president for academic affairs

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Agnes Scott College announces new vice president for academic affairs

Agnes Scott College has named Dr. Rachel A. Bowser vice president for academic affairs and dean of the college. Photo courtesy of Agnes Scott College.
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Decatur, GA — Rachel Bowser has been named as the vice president for academic affairs and dean of Agnes Scott College, effective July 1.

Bowser will succeed Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the College and Charles A. Dana Professor of English Christine S. Cozzens, who is retiring at the end of the 2021-22 academic year after 40 years at the college, according to a press release.

She was previously the associate provost for strategic initiatives and professor of English at Georgia Gwinnett College. She served in that role for 10 years.

“Agnes Scott is a community that has proven its commitment to and success at enabling social mobility, shaping global leadership and elevating the liberal arts,” Bowser said. “To be involved in any one of these initiatives is good fortune. To join a community that succeeds at them all is an opportunity few get and for which I am grateful.”

In her current position at Georgia Gwinnett College, Bowser focuses on closing equity gaps, leading retention initiatives and overseeing curricular and co-curricular interventions centered on students’ sense of belonging and professional purpose.

She has coordinated efforts focused on integrated coursework in learning communities, credit recovery for students, effective frameworks for advising and mentoring, and career readiness as a curriculum component.

In this work, she concentrates on supporting and communicating with faculty about the opportunities and obstacles they face.

Bowser is a graduate of Grove City College. She holds a Ph.D. from Emory University and an MA from West Virginia University, both in English.

A former Aspen Institute Fellow, she was an American Council on Education Leadership Fellow. She further honed her leadership skills as an Anchor Institution Task Force Leadership Fellow in a program designed to facilitate leadership development in higher education for individuals vested in community engagement.

As the vice president for academic affairs and dean, Bowser will be a partner in providing vision, leadership and direction to maintain the quality and vitality of the academic programs of the college.

“Agnes Scott College is incredibly fortunate to have someone of Dr. Bowser’s background and academic experience to assume this essential role. With her creativity and innovative thinking, we will continue to build on the college’s many successes and guide the college into the future,” Agnes Scott College President Leocadia I. Zak said.

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