Badia Ahad

Badia Ahad is the provost and executive vice president for academic affairs and the William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of English. As the institution’s chief academic officer, she ensures the quality of undergraduate, graduate and professional education and advances Emory’s progress as an eminent research university. The deans of Emory’s schools and colleges report to the provost on all academic matters. Additionally, Ahad provides leadership, guidance and support for academic units across the Office of the Provost, working closely with other senior leaders within the division and across the university to continue advancing important efforts to build strong schools, foster faculty eminence, ensure operational excellence and deliver an exceptional student experience.

Previously, Provost Ahad was the dean of Emory’s Oxford College, where she was responsible for crafting the overall vision and establishing the strategic priorities of the college. She served as Oxford’s chief academic, administrative, and fiscal officer while maintaining a wide portfolio of responsibilities, including academic affairs, campus life and housing, finance and operations, communications, enrollment services, technology, advancement, and human resources.

A scholar of literary and cultural studies, Ahad joined Emory in 2023 after serving 18 years on the faculty at Loyola University Chicago. At Loyola, she held numerous administrative posts including serving as the director of the university core curriculum and vice provost for faculty affairs. In the classroom, Ahad has been honored with numerous awards for teaching and scholarship excellence.

She has published widely on the intersection of African American literary and cultural studies and positive psychology, with a focus on the social, emotional, and psychological conditions that foster human flourishing. Ahad also served as principal investigator on a $1 million-dollar ADVANCE grant to support STEM faculty retention and equity, funded by the National Science Foundation. She is recognized as a national expert on faculty development and mentoring, having served for nearly a decade as the director of academic training for NCFDD.

Ahad graduated with a bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and received her MA and PhD in English Literature from the University of Notre Dame.