William F. Tate IV, dean of the Graduate School, vice provost for graduate education and the Edward Mallinckrodt Distinguished University Professor in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, has been appointed executive vice president for academic affairs and provost at the University of South Carolina, effective in July.
“Bill Tate is an extraordinary leader and scholar, and I am so pleased that his many talents have been recognized with this appointment,” Chancellor Andrew D. Martin said. “He has brought great vision and passion to the Graduate School, providing guidance and inspiration for our students and faculty. Our loss is most certainly South Carolina’s gain, and I know he will be an excellent provost. I wish him great success in his new role.”
A member of the Washington University faculty since 2002, Tate has served as dean and vice provost for graduate education since 2014 and previously served as chair of the Department of Education in Arts & Sciences for 12 years. He directs the university’s Center for the Study of Regional Competitiveness in Science and Technology. He holds or has held academic and research appointments in American culture studies, African and African American studies, applied statistics and computation, education, public health, social policy, sociology and urban studies.
“We are incredibly grateful to Bill Tate for all he has done to advance graduate education at Washington University,” said Marion G. Crain, interim provost. “He has been a wonderful colleague and has made a lasting impression on graduate education at Washington University. Our students and faculty have benefited greatly from his countless contributions, and I wish him all the best as he embarks upon his next chapter at the University of South Carolina.”
“I greatly appreciate the support from the WashU family during my tenure as a faculty member and administrator,” Tate said. “As a WashU alumnus and a parent of two WashU students, I look forward to continuing my support of our university for life. I am grateful to the university leaders and faculty colleagues who recruited me to WashU. It changed my life for the better. I will miss the daily engagement with a wonderful community.”
Tate is recognized as a national leader in his field. Earlier this year, he was named one of the 10 most influential sociologists working on problems related to education in the United States. He is a past president of the American Educational Research Association and an elected fellow of the association for his research contributions focused on sociological approaches to the study of STEM education and geospatial modeling of factors that influence developmental and health outcomes.
An elected member of the National Academy of Education, he has been recognized for his expansive vision of conceptual and methodological tools to address disparities in urban and rural communities. His research has been funded by the National Science Foundation and other agencies. A committed mentor, he has received national recognition as an inspiring leader in STEM, while also earning a mentoring award from graduate student leadership at Washington University.
Tate earned his doctorate in mathematics education with a cognate in human development at the University of Maryland, College Park. Prior to serving on the faculty at the University of Wisconsin (UW) at Madison, he was awarded the Anna Julia Cooper post-doctoral fellowship focused on social policy and law at UW.
He completed the postdoctoral training program in the Department of Psychiatry’s Epidemiology and Prevention Group at the Washington University School of Medicine, where he earned a master’s degree in psychiatric epidemiology. He completed the MAT degree in mathematical sciences education at the University of Texas at Dallas. Tate attended Northern Illinois University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in economics with a minor in mathematical sciences.
