President Michael E. Hill announced that Provost Alisa Rosenthal has been named the next Provost and Chief Academic Officer by Denison University in Granville, Ohio, effective July 2026. Provost Rosenthal will step down from her role at Randolph-Macon after the academic year concludes, and the College will launch a nationwide search for her replacement.

“In the relatively short time since my arrival at Randolph-Macon, Alisa has been an extraordinary colleague and partner to me in service to the College,” reflected President Hill. “Her generosity of time, wisdom, and perspective has been instrumental as we’ve begun shaping an evolving vision for the College’s future. I am profoundly grateful for the foundation she has helped to lay; it gives us a tremendous platform from which to build.”

Provost Rosenthal expressed her deeply mixed emotions about leaving Randolph-Macon and her partnership with Dr. Hill while also looking with enthusiasm toward her future role at Denison. 

“I care so much about RMC, the work I’ve done here, and the institution’s future,” she said. “But the convergence of this specific role, at this institution, at this time in my life, represents something for which I couldn’t have planned.”

Rosenthal joined Randolph-Macon as Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs in 2019, bringing with her a distinguished academic record as a political scientist, educator, and leader. Over her tenure, she has been a steady champion for faculty, a thoughtful steward of our academic programs, an advocate and fan for athletics, and a principled voice in institutional decision-making. During her tenure, the College built and achieved appropriate accreditation milestones in a new graduate PA program, BSN nursing program, and Engineering program. She also shepherded other important innovations in the curriculum, like a new major in data science. In 2025, Rosenthal was awarded the Samuel Nelson Gray Award for her excellence as an administrator. In doing so, then President Lindgren noted her leadership of the College’s response to the pandemic, her focus and success in recruitment and retention of faculty from historically underrepresented groups, and her important role in the agile model of strategic planning.  

That work will continue under Rosenthal until her departure. Hill promised more details on next steps in the months to come. “While we will miss her leadership deeply, I am confident that the strong platform Alisa has helped establish positions Randolph-Macon well as we prepare to launch a national search for our next Provost,” he wrote in his letter to the community. “The academic enterprise she has nurtured — grounded in rigor, collaboration, and purpose — gives us much to build upon in the next chapter of RMC’s story.”