Fatma Mili, PhD, has been appointed interim provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Montclair State University. Her appointment became effective on January 2, 2025. Mili will also continue to serve as interim dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.
As interim provost, Mili will lead the Division of Academic Affairs, which oversees 14 colleges and schools at Montclair State University. She takes over from Stefanie Brachfeld, who had served as acting provost since October while also holding the position of Vice Provost for Research.
Montclair State University President Jonathan Koppell commented on the appointment: “Fatma Mili is a proven academic leader whose breadth of experience, strategic insight and deep commitment to student success make her exceptionally well suited to serve as interim provost. I am grateful for her willingness to step into this role and confident she will continue to advance Montclair’s mission and values with both clarity and purpose.”
Mili joined Montclair in July after serving as Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs at Grand Valley State University. During her time there, she co-led an initiative to restructure advising services and integrate student care resources. She also led the restructuring of the College of Engineering and Computing into two separate colleges.
Her previous roles include dean of the College of Computing and Informatics at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where she increased degrees awarded by 60%. At Purdue University, she was a department chair and associate dean; there she helped transform the college of technology into Purdue Polytechnic Institute, resulting in growth in enrollment.
“I am honored to serve as interim provost and am grateful for the trust President Koppell and Montclair State University have placed in me,” said Mili. “Over the past six months as Dean, I have seen firsthand that Montclair is a place where imagination meets impact. I look forward to working with our exceptional faculty and staff to accelerate our tradition of innovation. Together we will design new, responsive academic programs and experiences that meet the needs of a changing world and ensure our students achieve life-changing outcomes. Together, we will continue to expand the boundaries of what a public research university can be.”
Montclair State University is a public research institution established in 1908 that offers undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs across various fields including arts, sciences, education, liberal arts training, professional preparation, and research opportunities (official website). The university serves more than 23,000 students from several New Jersey communities such as Montclair, Little Falls, Clifton, and Bloomfield (official website). It has grown from its origins as a teacher-training institution into one recognized among New Jersey’s top public universities for value and social mobility (official website).
The campus spans 252 acres with an extensive academic complex (official website). More than half its students are from underrepresented minority groups; it is New Jersey’s largest Hispanic-Serving Institution (official website).
