Gretchen Ritter

Gretchen Ritter is an American political scientist and academic administrator who currently serves as the executive vice president and provost at the University of Minnesota. She was previously a vice chancellor, provost, and vice president at Syracuse University, executive dean and vice provost of Ohio State University's College of Arts and Sciences, and the Harold Tanner Dean of Arts and Sciences at Cornell University.

Early life and education Ritter was born in Arlington County, Virginia, and raised in Upstate New York. She has four siblings. After high school, she received her bachelor's degree with distinction from Cornell University and her Ph.D. in political science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She has taught at MIT, Princeton University, Harvard University, and the University of Texas at Austin.

From 2009 to 2013, she was the vice provost for undergraduate education and faculty governance at the University of Texas at Austin, While in office, she spearheaded and piloted the creation of a new one-credit advising seminar for first year students. She also supported the creation of the Cornell Neurotech Program, a joint initiative between the College of Arts and Sciences and College of Engineering, the goal being to develop technologies and tools to reveal the interactions between brain cells and complex neural circuits at the speed of thought. And, she secured philanthropic support to launch the Milstein Program from Technology and Humanity jointly with the Cornell Tech Campus.

From 2019 to 2021, she served as the executive dean and vice provost of Ohio State University's College of Arts and Sciences.

Ritter left her position at Ohio State in August 2021 and became the vice chancellor, provost, and chief academic officer of Syracuse University in October 2021. There she oversaw the effort to create a new academic strategic plan, "Leading with Distinction", that identifies five areas of distinctive excellence for future growth: emerging technologies, human thriving, global diversity, experiential inquiry, and engaged citizenship. She also co-chaired the working group that developed the Syracuse Statement on Free Expression and Free Inquiry, outlining the University’s commitment to ensuring free speech and academic freedom among faculty and students, one of many instances Ritter has emphasized the importance of such throughout her professional career. In 2024, Ritter became the Vice President for Civic Engagement and Education at Syracuse. In this role, she worked with colleagues to launch the "Life Together: Seeking the Common Good in a Diverse Democracy," initiative, which promotes civil discourse and the civic engagement on the Syracuse University campus.

Ritter left Syracuse in July 2025 to become the University of Minnesota's executive vice president and provost.

Ritter is the author of two books, The Constitution as Social Design: Gender and Civic Membership in the American Constitutional Order and Goldbugs and Greenbacks: The Antimonology Tradition and the Politics of Finance in America, 1865–1896. She is a co-editor of Democratization in America: A Comparative and Historical Perspective. Other notable interview subjects over the years have included the political philosopher Michael Rogin, Vice President JD Vance, artists Michael Mercil and Ann Hamilton, Congresswoman Liz Cheney, opinion writers John McWhorter and Michael Eric Dyson, and creative writer George Saunders.

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