University Life Leadership Team

Meet the Vice Provost

Tamara Greenfield King stands in front of Locust Walk on a Fall day
Tamara Greenfield King

Tamara Greenfield King, J.D.

she/her

Interim Vice Provost for University Life

Tamara Greenfield King serves as Interim Vice Provost for University Life. King came to Penn in 2019 after 20 years in positions of increasing responsibility at Washington University, St. Louis, culminating as Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Support and Wellness. She is a sought-after expert in student conduct and Title IX, serving as the first African American president of the Association for Student Conduct Administration and co-authoring the book, Reframing Campus Conflict: Student Conduct Practice Through the Lens of Inclusive Excellence. Prior to higher education, King worked at various law firms, opened her own firm, and served as the first African American Assistant District Attorney in Northampton County, Pennsylvania. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Penn State University and received her law degree from New York University.

Meet the Team

Tamara Greenfield King stands in front of Locust Walk on a Fall day
Tamara Greenfield King, J.D. she/her
Senior Associate Vice Provost
for University Life
Full Bio
Tamara Greenfield King serves as Interim Vice Provost for University Life and Senior Associate Vice Provost for Student Affairs. Her portfolio includes Career Services, Naval ROTC, Platt Student Performing Arts House, the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life, and the Office of Student Affairs.

She is a sough-after expert in student conduct and Title IX, serving as the first African American president of the Association for Student Conduct Administration and co-authoring the book, Reframing Campus Conflict: Student Conduct Practice Through the Lens of Inclusive Excellence. Prior to higher education, King worked at various law firms, opened her own firm, and served as the first African American Assistant District Attorney in Northampton County, Pennsylvania. She earned a bachelor's degree in Political Science from Penn State University and received her law degree from New York University.
Meet the Team
Sharon Smith
Sharon Smith she/her
Associate Vice Provost
for University Life
Full Bio
Sharon Smith serves as Associate Vice Provost for University Life, overseeing Penn Violence Prevention, Student Intervention Services, and the Weingarten Center, which houses Learning Resources, Tutoring Services, and Student Disability Services. Her areas work closely with Counseling and Psychology Services (CAPS), Student Health Service, International Student and Scholars Services, the Chaplain’s Office, and the 12 schools in a shared mission to serve students navigating Penn. Smith came to Penn in 1987 serving in various leadership positions including PENNCAP, New Student Orientation, and Open Expression. She helped create the mission and framework of Student Intervention Services (SIS), which leads the University’s response to emergencies and critical incidents involving students. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Penn State University and a master’s in Counseling Psychology from Temple University.
Meet the Team
Will Atkins stands outside on Penn's campus
Will Atkins, Ph.D. he/him
Associate Vice Provost for
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging
Full Bio
Will Atkins serves as Associate Vice Provost for University Life – Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging. Within this role, he is responsible for supporting DEIB efforts for students, specifically overseeing the university’s outstanding Cultural Resource Centers and engaging with numerous student organizations across campus. The six Cultural Resource Centers include: The Albert M. Greenfield Intercultural Center, The Center for Hispanic Excellence: LaCasa Latina, The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Center, Makuu: The Black Cultural Center; The Pan-Asian American Community House, and the Penn Women’s Center. He also serves as University Life’s point of contact for university-wide DEIB efforts, in collaboration with various campus stakeholders.

Will is a native of Tampa, Florida and came to Penn after serving as Assistant Vice President for Student Life at the University of Florida (UF). His professional experiences include working with multicultural centers/social justice education, first-generation student success, sorority and fraternity life, student activities, student government, service learning, and new student orientation. He earned his bachelor’s degree from UF, master’s degree in higher education administration from the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor, and Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction from UF.
Meet the Team
Laurie Hall outside on campus copy
Laurie A. Hall she/her
Assistant Vice Provost for Strategic Planning and Operations
Full Bio
Laurie A. Hall serves as Assistant Vice Provost for Strategic Planning and Operations with responsibility for the advancement of the strategic direction for the division. She has oversight of the creation of strategies focused on the continual improvement of the organization including professional development, staff engagement, cultivating an ethos of dignity, cultural humility, inclusion, and understanding of common divisional goals and institutional values. Her portfolio includes the functional areas of Strategic Initiatives and Partnerships, Communications, Design Strategies, and University Life Space and Events Management.

Hall came to Penn in 2017 after seventeen years of progressive experience at Princeton University, most recently as Assistant Director for Administrative Planning in the Office of the Executive Vice President where she participated in enterprise level planning, financial stewardship, emergency planning, and organizational development. Preceding her roles with Princeton, she served as director of the Center for Volunteerism and Service Learning at Saint Elizabeth University. Hall spent her early career in the private, non-profit sector providing community reintegration and family programming for formerly incarcerated adults and managing undergraduate internships and field placements with the organization. Ms. Hall received her BA and Ed.M. in Education Theory, Policy, and Administration from  Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ.
Meet the Team
Christine Brown Lawrence headshot
Christine Brown-Lawrence she/her
Executive Assistant to the Vice Provost for University Life
Bio

Christine Brown-Lawrence serves as the Executive Assistant for University Life Central. She holds a B.A. in Business Administration and a M.S in Athletic Coaching from West Virginia University, and is currently pursuing an MBA at Temple University. Prior to working at University of Pennsylvania, she worked at Temple University for 8+ years supporting the President & CEO of Temple Hospital and Dean of Temple University Medical School.

Rob Butler outdoors stands against a brick wall.
Rob Butler he/him
Interim University Life Technology Services Director
Bio

Rob Butler serves as Interim University Life Technology Services Director. He has been at the University for seventeen years - nine of those years with the Division of Finance IT and eight with University Life Technology Services. 

University Life Organization Chart

Interim Vice Provost for
University Life

Tamara Greenfield King, J.D.

Executive
Assistant

Christine Brown-Lawrence

Senior Associate Vice Provost
for University Life

Tamara Greenfield King, J.D.

Career Services
Executive Director

Barbara Hewitt, Ed.D.

Fraternity and Sorority Life
Director of Leadership Community

Jessica Nicole Ryan

Fraternity and Sorority Life
Director of Residential Community

Jonathan Bell

Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps
Director

Colonel Vincent J. Ciuccoli

Office of Student Affairs
Executive Director

Katie Bonner

Platt Student Performing Arts House
Director

Laurie McCall

Associate Vice Provost for
University Life

Sharon Smith

Penn Violence Prevention
Director

Elise Scioscia

Student Intervention Services
Director

Lauren Rudick

Weingarten Center
Executive Director

Jane Holahan, Ed.D.

Academic Support, Weingarten Center
Director

Ryan Miller, Ed.D.

Disability Services, Weingarten Center
Director

Aaron Spector

Tutoring Services, Weingarten Center
Associate Director

Valerie Wrenn

Associate Vice Provost for
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging

Will Atkins, Ph.D.

Greenfield Intercultural Center
Director

Valerie De Cruz

La Casa Latina
Director

Krista Cortes, Ph.D.

Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Center
Director

Erin Cross, Ph.D.

Makuu: The Black Cultural Center
Director

Brian Peterson, Ph.D.

Pan-Asian American Community House
Director

Vacant

Penn Women’s Center
Director

Elisa Foster

Assistant Vice Provost
for Strategic Planning and Operations

Laurie A. Hall

Space and Events Management
Director

Saleem M. Curry

Strategic Initiatives
Executive Director

Michael Elias

Creative Strategy and Design
Director

Marjan Osman Gartland

Strategic Partnerships and Programs
Director

Laurie McCaffrey

Interim IT Technical Director
Technology Services

Rob Butler