Karen Smilowitz named associate provost for undergraduate education

Karen Smilowitz has been named Northwestern’s associate provost for undergraduate education, Provost Kathleen Hagerty announced today.

In this role, Smilowitz — a member of Northwestern’s faculty for more than two decades — will lead the Office of Undergraduate Education, which supports students’ academic excellence and personal growth.

“I am thrilled Karen will serve in this important role dedicated to supporting and enhancing the Northwestern undergraduate academic experience,” Hagerty said. “She brings a distinctive combination of deep knowledge of Northwestern, a strong track record of working effectively across the institution and scholarly expertise in operations. I look forward to all she will accomplish in this new capacity.”

Smilowitz, whose term will begin Sept. 1, succeeds Miriam Sherin, who will return to her full-time role as the Alice Gabrielle Twight Professor of Learning Sciences in the School of Education and Social Policy after two successful terms in the role.

“I joined Northwestern in 2001 because I was drawn to the exceptional combination of undergraduate focus and research excellence,” Smilowitz said. “Over my time here, I have had wonderful experiences teaching undergraduates and engaging them in my research, and I’m excited to continue working with students in this new role.”

Smilowitz is the James N. and Margie M. Krebs Professor in Industrial Engineering and Management Science at the McCormick School of Engineering and a professor of operations in the Kellogg School of Management. 

For several years, she taught an undergraduate course bringing together students from across campus to work together using their quantitative and qualitative skills on problems of societal impact. She also has led institution-wide initiatives as co-chair of the Faculty Pandemic Impact Response Workgroup, which aimed to understand faculty experiences and recommend strategies for mitigating disruptions caused by COVID-19, and as co-chair of the Provost’s Academic Calendar Advisory Group, which advised on implementation of changes to the academic calendar, among other roles.

“I’m looking forward to envisioning new ways to engage Northwestern students from all schools and departments to work together to face the challenges ahead,” she said.

The associate provost for undergraduate education facilitates enhancement of undergraduate academics through participation in a variety of initiatives that span the University. This includes leading Northwestern’s Undergraduate Council, which works to identify opportunities for University-wide collaboration and provide creative and pragmatic solutions to systemic University-wide challenges.

The Office for Undergraduate Education provides leadership for advising at Northwestern, supporting the work and collaboration of academic school-based advising and coordination of offices that offer advising on special opportunities and navigation of challenges for all undergraduates.

“My motivation in pursuing this role is also personal,” Smilowitz said. “My son will be starting college in the fall, and I think of the uncertainty that will surround his experience. I see him in all our Northwestern students, and this has motivated me further to pursue the role to ensure that all students have what they need to thrive even in these challenging times.”

Smilowitz is an expert in modeling and solution approaches for logistics and transportation systems in both commercial and nonprofit applications. She has been instrumental in promoting the use of operations research within the humanitarian and nonprofit sectors through the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the National Academy of Engineering, as well as various media outlets. She currently is editor-in-chief of Transportation Science and a Fellow of the INFORMS society.

Smilowitz earned a B.S.E. in civil engineering and operations research from Princeton University and an M.S. and Ph.D. in civil and environmental engineering from the University of California, Berkeley.