Academic Affairs Provost

Dr. Alfred W. Tatum, Provost and Executive Vice President of Academic Affairs

Provost Alfred W. Tatum serves as MSU Denver’s chief academic officer.  He is also a Professor in the School of Education. As a literacy researcher, he studies methods for moving African American boys to advanced levels of disciplinary reading and writing, paying particularly attention to the roles of texts and curriculum. He is a leading authority and one of the nation’s prominent education scholars of African American boys’ literacy development.

As Provost, Dr. Tatum oversees academic activities throughout the university, with direct responsibility for developing, delivering and evaluating academic programs, as well as related policies and procedures. He is also responsible for the promotion, tenure, and retention processes, and other faculty related procedures.

Before becoming Provost at MSU Denver in 2021, Dr. Tatum was the Dean of the College of Education at the University of Illinois at Chicago from 2013-2020. At UIC, he directed the UIC Reading Clinic from 2007-2020. He brings 19 years of experience in higher education as a dean, department chair, reading clinic director, Ph.D. program coordinator, director of graduate studies, and professor.

Dr. Tatum received his B.S. from Northern Illinois University and his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Chicago.