George Mason dean named provost at William & Mary

Peggy Agouris, dean of the College of Science at George Mason University, has been named provost at the College of William & Mary.

Pending approval this week by the William & Mary board of visitors, she will join W&M on July 1.

“Dr. Agouris brings an enormous breadth of experience as a teacher, scholar, researcher and administrator. She will be an extraordinary provost, and we are thrilled to welcome her to campus,” W&M President Katherine A. Rowe said in a statement.

Agouris will succeed Michael R. Halleran, who announced in September his plans to step down as provost and return to teaching on the W&M faculty.

At George Mason, Agouris oversees 4,000 students, almost 700 faculty and staff and an annual budget of more than $80 million.

Agouris also is director of the Center for Earth Observing and Space Research at George Mason. She is an expert in digital image processing and analysis, remote sensing and geospatial information systems.

A National Science Foundation CAREER award winner, Agouris has received more than $35 million in external research funding, including grants from the National Science Foundation, NASA and the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency.

The provost is the chief academic officer for the university and oversees Arts & Sciences, the Raymond A. Mason School of Business, the William & Mary School of Education, William & Mary Law School, the William & Mary School of Marine Science at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science and University Libraries.

Originally from Athens, Greece, Agouris received her engineering degree from the National Technical University of Athens and her master’s and doctoral degrees from The Ohio State University. As an undergraduate, she also received a degree in classical music and piano from the Greek Conservatory.

Agouris, her husband, Tony, and teenage daughter, Chloe, will reside in Williamsburg.