Alphonso Keaton, Ph.D.
Dr. Alphonso Keaton has served as Interim Dean of Undergraduate Studies since Fall 2019. Over the last several years in this role, he has served as the lead administrator for the General Studies Degree Program, which has grown significantly under his leadership from seven students to now over two hundred. In collaboration with the PVAMU Apple HBCU C2 Program and the Department of Computer Science, he has helped develop two new coding and app development courses for PV undergraduates. In 2021 he was awarded a $300K THECB Reskilling Grant to provide financial support to undergraduates returning “Back to the Hill” to complete their degrees. In 2022, he was awarded an additional $100K for these efforts. Chairing an interdisciplinary team of faculty, Keaton and colleagues proposed a BA/BS in Public Health. It has approval from the Board of Regents, THECB, and is nearing final approval by SACSCOC.
Given his performance, supervisor feedback from deans, department heads, program coordinators, Faculty Senate leadership, and his staff, combined with our need to have a fully engaged undergraduate dean in this area, Dr. Keaton will assume leadership as Dean of Undergraduate Studies effective September 1, 2022. As Dean, he will serve as the chief administrative officer in matters related to the planning and assessment of quality undergraduate programs. He will oversee the Undergraduate Curriculum Council, undergraduate core curriculum, the General Studies degree, general undergraduate student complaints and appeals assigned by Academic Affairs, and components of the undergraduate catalog, including policies and procedures, when assigned. He will work with others on the Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP), implementation of the Science Strategic Plan, attend to requirements of THECB’s Building a Talent Strong Texas Plan, oversee the Honors Program and Open Educational Resources (OER) initiatives and support undergraduate advising and the general student experience. Teaching Biology and/or General Studies is part of this assignment.
Dr. Keaton is a faculty member in the Department of Biology and has taught and continues to teach numerous courses to undergraduates, including General Studies courses. He served as the Associated Dean for the Brailsford College of Arts & Sciences for five years. Dr. Keaton is a Co-PI for the $1 million NSF S-STEM grant award that provides research, academic, and financial support to PV undergraduates majoring in STEM.
Please join me in welcoming him into his Dean of Undergraduate Studies role.
James M. Palmer
Provost & Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs