A&M Board of Regents approve new provost for Victoria
On Friday, The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents approved the nomination of Alyssa Kiesow to the post of provost and vice president for academic affairs at Texas A&M University-Victoria.
Kiesow will join the university from her current post as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Northern State University in Aberdeen, South Dakota. She brings with her a 20-year career in academia, as well as experience working in the field as a wildlife biologist. She plans to join A&M-Victoria on July 1.
“I am excited to welcome Dr. Alyssa Kiesow to the leadership of Texas A&M University-Victoria,” said Christian Hardigree, president of A&M-Victoria. “She brings a demonstrated ability to connect students, academic programs, and community partners in ways that create meaningful pathways to success. I am confident her leadership and commitment to career-ready education will have a lasting impact on our university and the region we serve.”
Kiesow holds four degrees across three institutions. She earned an Associate of Arts in liberal arts from Winona State University in 1997, followed by a Bachelor of Science (2000) and Master of Science (2003) in biology from South Dakota State University. She later completed her Ph.D. in biology at the University of South Dakota in 2008.
Her career began while she was earning her master’s degree. She first began working as a wildlife biologist for South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks in Pierre, S.D. in 2002. She worked as a terrestrial ecologist in that role until 2006, when she became a graduate research fellow for the University of South Dakota’s biology department while she was pursuing her doctoral degree. The next year, she moved into a biology instructor role at Northern State University in Aberdeen, S.D. She moved up into the position of assistant professor in 2008. She was granted tenure and achieved the title of associate professor in 2013 and earned the title of full professor in 2018.
Throughout her time at Northern State, Kiesow has stepped into several leadership roles that prepared her to take the reins as A&M-Victoria’s chief academic officer. She served as the founding coordinator for both the Undergraduate Research Program and the STEM Outreach Program. In 2018, she moved into the role of associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, as well as the chair of the Department of Science and Mathematics. Then, in 2020, she was named Director of Sponsored Projects in the Office of Vice President for Academic Affairs. That same year, she became the interim dean for the College of Arts and Sciences and officially became the dean in 2021.
Under her leadership, Kiesow has led campuswide initiatives focused on student admissions, built relationships with industry partners to create opportunities for student internships, secured scholarships and funding for new faculty and a nursing program, and collaborated to create revenue-generating research with businesses. She also has experience developing degree programs, including biochemistry, global languages and culture, nursing, and science education.
“I am extremely honored to join Texas A&M University-Victoria, where a deep commitment to student success and community engagement is clearly evident,” Kiesow said. “I look forward to collaborating with faculty and staff, President Hardigree, and the community to strengthen connections, expand opportunities, and support meaningful growth for both the university and the Victoria region.”
Texas A&M University-Victoria, located in the heart of the Coastal Bend region since 1973 in Victoria, Texas, offers courses leading to more than 50 academic programs in the colleges of Business, Education & Health Professions, Liberal Arts & Social Sciences, and Natural & Applied Science. A&M-Victoria provides face-to-face classes at its Victoria campus, as well as online classes that students can take from anywhere. The university supports the American Association of State Colleges and Universities Opportunities for All initiative to increase awareness about state colleges and universities and the important role they have in providing a high-quality and accessible education to an increasingly diverse student population, as well as contributing to regional and state economic development.