Karen Gaines, Ph.D.
Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
Academic Affairs
Biography
Gaines most recently served as provost and dean of faculty at Norwich University in Northfield, Vermont, a position she held from May 2022 through this past summer. Her time at Norwich included serving as acting president during the spring 2024 semester.
Prior to her time in Vermont, Gaines served nearly six years as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida, and nearly 11 years as faculty member and later department chair of Biological Sciences, as well as other administrative roles, at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, Illinois.
Gaines holds a doctoral degree in public health with a focus in environmental toxicology from the University of South Carolina; a master of science degree in wildlife science from Purdue University; and a bachelor’s degree in environmental biology from the State University of New York’s College of Environmental Science and Forestry.
She earned a certificate in global health delivery from the Harvard School of Public Health and is internationally recognized for her research on toxicants in extreme environments.
During her academic career, Gaines has been published extensively in peer-reviewed journals and has helped secure more than $100 million in funding. She’s worked to launch ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ and innovative academic programming in both online and in-person modalities, including introducing the nation’s first aerospace physiology degree while at Embry-Riddle.
