Interim Provost Beth A. Winkelstein has announced the appointment of Hikaru “Karu” Kozuma as Vice Provost for University Life, beginning May 1, 2023. Dr. Kozuma is currently executive director of College Houses and Academic Services and served previously at Penn as Associate Vice Provost for University Life and executive director of the Office of Student Affairs. 

“Karu Kozuma is a highly experienced national leader in university life who is well known across our Penn community for his empathy, wisdom, and collaborative skill,” said Interim Provost Winkelstei. “He is deeply committed to the engagement and well-being of our students, both graduate and undergraduate, as his own experience encompasses every size and aspect of student life, including his own experience as a graduate student at GSE. 

“I, along with incoming Provost John Jackson, am deeply grateful to the consultative committee and to the members of our community who participated in the search process for this vital position—as well as to Tamara Greenfield King for her invaluable ongoing service as Interim Vice Provost for University Life. We are confident that Karu will be an outstanding partner to all of us in leading our university life initiatives in the years ahead.” 

Dr. Kozuma—who received the highly distinguished Pillar of the Profession Award last year from the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators—has served at Penn as executive director of College Houses and Academic Services since 2021 and as Associate Vice Provost for University Life and executive director of the Office of Student Affairs from 2010 to 2018. From 2018 to 2021, he was the chief student affairs officer at Amherst College, overseeing all aspects of student affairs, including residential life, student activities, and academic advising. Before coming to Penn in 2010, he was the director of residential programs at Columbia University and spent three years in residential life at Middlebury College. He received an EdD in higher education from the Penn Graduate School of Education in 2015, an MEd in higher education administration from the Harvard Graduate School of Administration in 2002, and a BA from Middlebury College in 1998. 

A national search for a new executive director of College Houses and Academic Services will begin immediately, with more details to be announced soon.