Sharon L. Vasquez became provost of the University of Hartford on Aug. 15, 2010. As provost, she oversees all academic-related functions, including undergraduate and graduate programs, faculty, information technology,
and libraries.
Vasquez lists among her goals "joining [University of Hartford] President Harrison and the entire campus community in articulating and achieving the institution's goals. We will continue to nurture a robust teaching and learning environment, serve current and future students, engage alumni, advance community partnerships, and leverage the entrepreneurial spirit that has helped shape the University of Hartford."
Vasquez has had an outstanding career as an artist, educator, and academic leader. Born and reared in St. Louis, Mo., she decided as a young woman to pursue a professional career in dance. After entering an agreement with her parents that she would attend two years of college first, Vasquez enrolled in Butler University's widely acclaimed dance program. Upon fulfilling her commitment to her parents, she pursued a professional career as a dancer and choreographer.
Following a successful professional career, Vasquez returned to school to pursue a career as a dance educator, subsequently earning a BFA and an MFA in dance from Florida State University. She then earned a CMA (advanced certification in movement analysis) from the Laban Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies in New York City. Her continuing education includes the Institute for Management and Leadership in Education at Harvard University and the Summer Institute for Women in Higher Education Administration at Bryn Mawr College.
Immediately prior to becoming University of Hartford provost, Vasquez served as dean of the College of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts at Wayne State University in Detroit, Mich. During her six-year tenure at Wayne State, the college exceeded its goal for the Wayne First capital campaign and increased its influence and visibility both locally and nationally. In 2008, Vasquez launched an incubator for creative, sector-based businesses at TechTown, Wayne State's high-tech research park, and implemented "ARTrepreneurship" training modules to help students gain hands-on business knowledge for careers in the arts.
From 2000 to 2004, as dean of the then-School of Arts and Performance at the State University of New York at Brockport, Vasquez oversaw the departments of art, communication, dance, theatre, and physical education and sports, as well as interdisciplinary programs in arts for children and in visual studies. She arrived at SUNY-Brockport from the University of Texas at Austin, where she had worked since 1984, rising through the academic ranks to become chair of the theatre and dance department.
In announcing Vasquez's appointment as provost of the University of Hartford, Harrison said, "I am thrilled that we have attracted someone of Sharon's stature, experience, and ability to this position, and I very much look forward to working with her. . . . It is exciting to think that the University of Hartford, an institution in which the arts have played such a central role throughout our history, has for the first time been able to attract an accomplished arts educator and administrator to assume its chief academic officer position." Outside of her professional role, Vasquez enjoys spending time with her family, hiking, reading, and cooking.
