Dennis Mitchell Email & Phone Number

My work centers on identifying unaddressed needs and building relationships to develop data-driven solutions. Since residency training in the early 1990s, when my clinical research focus was addressing dental health disparities for HIV-positive Harlem residents, my mission has been to combat structural inequality in the academy and in dental medicine. My next challenge was addressing the lack of oral healthcare services in northern Manhattan, which led me to co-create the Community DentCare Network (CDN).From 2004-2021, I served as the Dean for Diversity and Inclusion for the College of Dental Medicine at Columbia, and led the effort to increase the proportion of historically-underrepresented students in each incoming class from 3% to 20%. I was then offered the role of Vice Provost for Faculty Advancement, charged with attracting and retaining a more diverse faculty for the entire university. Though progress in DEI work is often incremental, Columbia has established and sustained programs that have had a real impact on the academic excellence and the diversity of the institution. I was immensely honored to spearhead this effort. The Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty Advancement stewards $295M in committed funds. Its portfolio includes initiatives that are critical for faculty success: Faculty Diversity and Inclusion; Faculty Advancement; Inclusive Faculty Pathways; and the Office of Work/Life.In August 2021, I was appointed EVP for University Life, with the goal of enhancing the student experience through programs, partnerships and initiatives that foster inclusion and belonging, sexual respect, health, well-being, and community citizenship. After the global racial unrest that followed George Floyd’s murder, Columbia’s then President Lee Bollinger launched the Commitment to an Antiracist Columbia, calling me to lead a University-wide review in eight key areas: inclusive public safety; the impact of racism in communities surrounding campus; symbols and representations on campus; student inclusion and belonging; faculty diversity; staff experience; initiatives at schools and institutes; and a CUIMC task force to address structural racism in healthcare. In July 2023, I will become Columbia’s Interim Provost. As the University's chief academic officer, I will build upon the academic excellence that attracts world-class scholars to Columbia. With the looming Supreme Court decision on Affirmative Action, I am eager to continue Lee Bollinger’s legacy, advancing Columbia’s commitment to antiracism, and, more broadly, to inclusion and belonging.

Listed skills include Public Health, Public Speaking, Program Development, Research, and 45 others.