Education

Ph.D., Communication, Temple University
B.A., Political Science, Temple University

Responsibilities

Provost Fitzpatrick serves as the executive vice president and chief academic officer of the University of South Carolina, where excellence in teaching, research and community service combine to provide exceptional academic opportunities for all students. With over 40,000 students and more than 2,600 faculty, our offerings range across 17 colleges, schools and campuses.  The provost provides the guiding vision and framework for all USC’s academic leadership and administrative management.

The provost is charged with the oversight of the University of South Carolina's graduate and undergraduate academic programs as well as curriculum development, program assessment and university accreditation. Her leadership team manages strategic planning processes and provides budgetary oversight for all USC Columbia schools and colleges and academic support areas. Fitzpatrick chairs the USC Policy Advisory Committee which governs the creation, oversight and revision of all formal USC Columbia and System policies.

Academic Leadership Positions

Fitzpatrick joined the USC faculty after a successful academic and administrative leadership career at the University of Wisconsin Madison.  At USC, Fitzpatrick has served as the founding dean of the McCausland College of Arts and Sciences; the vice provost for special academic initiatives, the vice president for strategic planning for the USC system, the Chancellor of USC Upstate, and the vice provost for faculty affairs and dean of the faculty.

Research and Scholarship

Fitzpatrick has published seven books; three special issues of major journals and over 100 major peer reviewed articles and book chapters. Her work has appeared in major peer reviewed journals and handbooks in communication, social psychology, clinical psychology, developmental psychology, health psychology, family sociology, as well as text and discourse studies. Her research has been funded by NIH, NSF, the Spencer Foundation, the Kellogg Foundation and the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation. The impact and quality of her research has been recognized by her election as a Fellow of four major learned societies: the American Association for the Advancement of Science; the International Communication Association; The National Communication Association; and the International Association for Relationship Research.