The University of South Carolina today announced Pamela Steinke, Ph.D., as its provost and senior vice chancellor for academic affairs. Steinke has served as the university’s interim provost and senior vice chancellor for academic affairs since November 2021. She has achieved permanent status after a nationwide search.
As USC Upstate’s chief academic officer, Steinke will be responsible for providing strategic leadership of the university’s academic programs, policies, priorities, and faculty. She will continue to focus on teaching excellence, student success, innovation, public scholarship, community partnerships, and a strong commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
“Dr. Pamela Steinke brings exceptional academic experience and a track record of success in academic affairs,” said USC Upstate Chancellor Bennie L. Harris, Ph.D. “The faculty and university community were highly supportive of her candidacy, which allows for a seamless transition as we reimagine Upstate.”
Steinke joined USC Upstate in April 2018 as vice provost and associate vice chancellor for academic affairs. She is the university’s accreditation liaison with the Southern Association on Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC).
After earning her Ph.D. in psychology from the University of California, Davis, in 1992, Steinke became a faculty member in psychology at Central College in Pella, Iowa. At Central, she earned tenure, served as department chair, chaired the assessment committee, directed an experiential learning program, and developed her scholarship on cognitive outcomes of service-learning.
Steinke served in faculty and administrative roles at North Carolina State University and Meredith College. Her most recent role prior to joining USC Upstate was dean of teaching and learning outcomes at University of St. Francis in Joliet, Ill.
Steinke has extensive experience in accreditation, assessment, and high-impact practices. She has published and presented on assessment and service-learning; has been involved in the development of the AAC&U problem-solving rubric; has developed the Problem-Solving Analysis Protocol (P-SAP) with a colleague; and has been a reviewer for Research and Practice in Assessment and the Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning.
She has also led institutions through the accreditation process, writing major sections of successful peer-reviewed reaccreditation reports, has served as a peer reviewer for both Higher Learning Commission (HLC) and SACSCOC, and has presented at both HLC and SACSCOC annual conferences.
Steinke earned her undergraduate degree in psychology and political science from the University of Michigan. She earned her master’s degree and later her doctorate in psychology from the University of California, Davis.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to serve Chancellor Harris and our faculty in the role of provost as we work together to reimagine the future of USC Upstate,” Steinke said.