Janet Woodruff-Borden
Interim Provost and Executive Vice President
provost@uoregon.edu
541-346-3081
Executive support: John Scholl
Janet Woodruff-Borden is the interim provost and executive vice president of the University of Oregon. As chief academic officer, she serves as the steward of the university’s academic mission, working with faculty and staff members, students, deans, and other stakeholders to ensure the university maintains the highest quality of scholarly activity and educational programs.
Dr. Woodruff-Borden is a clinical psychologist whose research focuses on the etiology, developmental psychopathology, and treatment of anxiety disorders. Her work examines risk and protective factors in the development of anxiety including biological and psychophysiological markers; cognitive factors; parenting practices and parent-child interactions; and temperament as well as the complex interactions among these factors across development. Her research has been supported with grant funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative (SFARI). She has also received graduate education training grants from the Health Resources and Service Administration (HRSA) and the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services.
At UO, Woodruff-Borden is a professor of psychology and most recently served as executive vice provost and led the academic and faculty affairs efforts for the Office of the Provost. In that role, she oversaw issues around faculty hiring, review, and promotion; academic policy, review, and accreditation; curriculum and teaching effectiveness; leadership and professional development; online and hybrid education; and employee and labor relations matters. She previously served as vice provost and dean of the UO Graduate School, now the Division of Graduate Studies. She came to UO from the University of Louisville where she was professor of psychological and brain sciences. She held a number of administrative positions throughout her career at Louisville, including director of graduate studies for the clinical psychology doctoral program and associate dean for graduate studies in the College of Arts and Sciences.
She received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Wake Forest University, an M.S. and Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and completed a postdoctoral research fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
As the chief academic officer for the university, the provost provides leadership for matters that affect academic programs, research, and outreach involving faculty members, students, and staff members. The provost oversees the quality of programs of instruction and research through collaborative work with vice presidents, deans, vice provosts, and numerous other units related to the university. Additionally, the provost is responsible for overseeing academic and budgetary planning and priorities.
The provost helps ensure the quality of the faculty by providing leadership in matters related to faculty appointments and promotions, working conditions, and tenure. The provost also works to ensure the quality of student learning by overseeing the curriculum and encouraging and coordinating initiatives in undergraduate and graduate education.
The provost reports to the president of the university and, in his absence, acts on behalf of the president. As chief academic officer, the provost serves as the spokesperson for academic matters at the university.