Tamara L. Greenfield King, longtime administrator at Washington University in St. Louis, has been named Penn's new associate Vice Provost for Student Affairs.
In her role, King will oversee several major groups on campus, including Career Services, Civic House, the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps, the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life, the Office of Student Affairs, and the Platt Student Performing Arts House.
King will replace Sharon Smith, the current interim senior associate Vice Provost for Student Affairs, who is also associate Vice Provost for University Life. Smith took on the student affairs position last fall after long-serving administrator Hikaru Kozuma left for Amherst University.
King has been involved in university administration for nearly two decades. Since 2017, she has been the associate Vice Chancellor for Student Support and Wellness at Washington University in St. Louis, where she served as the associate Dean of Students, Deputy Title IX Coordinator, and Director of Student Conduct.
King said she is excited to work with students as she transitions into her role at Penn.
“I’ve had a long history of working directly with students over the span of my higher ed career,” King said. “The students I met when I interviewed were fantastic. They asked really thoughtful questions [and] had ideas about change that they would like to see.”
King said at Washington University, she helped spearhead new initiatives such as a professional clothing drive and a celebration week for first-generation students, faculty, and staff. She also worked to make Washington University’s Habif Health and Wellness Center more inclusive by translating informational materials into different languages, hiring diverse staff, and instituting personal pronoun preferences on all medical records.
“We are delighted to welcome Tamara King to our VPUL family this January,” Vice Provost for University Life Valarie Swain-Cade McCoullum wrote in an email to The Daily Pennsylvanian. “I am confident that she will be a fabulous resource to promulgate engagement, a sense of belonging, and a deeply-felt connection across Penn’s vibrantly diverse undergraduate, graduate, and professional student population.”
King grew up in Easton, Pennsylvania and received her bachelor’s degree from Penn State University and her law degree from New York University. Previously, she served as the first black assistant district attorney in Northampton County, Pennsylvania.
“[I’m] really looking forward to getting back to Pennsylvania, working with great students, and really trying to enhance the student experience at the University,” King said.
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