Appointment of Sarah Hokanson as Associate Provost for Academic Initiatives & Operational Excellence
From Dr. Gloria Waters, University Provost and Chief Academic Officer
I am pleased to announce that following a brief hiatus, Sarah Hokanson has returned to Boston University in the new role of associate provost for academic initiatives and operational excellence. Sarah will be a key member of the leadership team within the Office of the Provost, strengthening our academic operations and enhancing our ability to respond to urgent or crisis situations. She will lead ongoing and new academic initiatives, including our current work to implement the action items within the inaugural contract of the Boston University Graduate Workers Union.
Sarah began her career at Boston University in 2015 and has made a critical impact on the entire BU community through her prior work in the Office of Research and Graduate Affairs. She guided the University Council Committee on Research & Scholarly Activity’s efforts to develop the first BU-wide policy for postdocs and its revision in 2024. She also led or co-led several significant provost-appointed task forces, including work redefining the non-faculty academic research job family, establishing core competencies for PhD education, and envisioning the future of PhD education. She additionally co-created nationally recognized professional development programs such as the Postdoc Academy and the Inclusive STEM Teaching Project and this past spring was named the National Postdoctoral Association’s mentor of the year. Sarah has a BA in chemistry from Boston University (CAS ’05) and a PhD in biochemistry and molecular biophysics from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. She was a postdoctoral fellow in chemistry and chemical biology at Cornell University. Prior to Boston University, she was US deputy director for science and innovation at the British Consulate-General, Boston.
I know that Sarah will translate bold new ideas and opportunities into mature initiatives and is already seen as an excellent collaborator to provost reporting areas and the schools and colleges. This position will be critical to streamlining our operations within the Office of the Provost and allowing us to be more responsive to and collaborative with offices and schools/colleges across the University. I hope you’ll join me in congratulating Sarah on her return and promotion and wish her well as she begins her new role.