Jim Gigantino, who previously served as the associate dean for the Graduate School and International Education, has been named the interim vice provost for academic affairs at the U of A, effective August 15, 2022. 

Gigantino takes over for Kathy Sloan, who recently was appointed interim dean of the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences last month.

“I am grateful for the opportunity to take on this new role as interim vice provost of academic affairs,” Gigantino said. “I look forward to the new challenges and collaboration this will bring as we continue to work together to advance our campus’ academic goals and support our faculty, staff and students.”  

Since January of 2021, Gigantino has served as the associate dean of the Graduate School and International Education and has been a faculty member since August 2010 when he joined the U of A as an assistant professor in the Department of History.

He was promoted to associate professor in 2015 and full professor in  2019. He has served as Department of History chair (2018-2021), associate chair/director of Graduate Studies (2015-2018) and in numerous faculty governance roles across campus.

In addition, he has served in several leadership positions within the university’s faculty governance system, including the Graduate Council and Faculty Senate. Gigantino currently also serves  as a peer reviewer for the Higher Learning Commission. 

A member of the university's Teaching Academy, Gigantino was named a Master Teacher by Fulbright College in 2015, Outstanding Advisor by Fulbright College in 2018, and received a Faculty Gold Medal from the Office of Nationally Competitive Awards in 2021. He has a significant record of working toward diversity and inclusion as an affiliated faculty member in the African and African American Studies program. He was named the 2019 Fulbright College Omni Award recipient for his efforts in this area and received the University Diversity Award in 2016.

“Jim is a great fit for this role, and I know he will be a great advocate for our faculty and students,” Interim Provost Terry Martin said. “He’s been a wonderful asset to our campus over the last 12 years, and I look forward to working more with him as we get set to begin our new academic year.”

Gigantino, an early American historian whose work focuses on the history of slavery and the role of government in the American Revolution, received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Richmond and a Ph.D. in history from the University of Georgia. He is the author of two books and two edited collections, most recently William Livingston’s American Revolution by the University of Pennsylvania Press in 2018. 

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