By Kristen Mitchell
George Washington University Law School professor Christopher Bracey has been named the new vice provost for faculty affairs. He will start in the new position on Sept. 1.
Mr. Bracey is replacing Vice Provost Dianne Martin, who announced in April she would step down at the end of the summer after five years leading the Office of Faculty Affairs.
“GW has an excellent faculty, and I’m very excited to serve in this role so I can work to ensure the continued excellence of the faculty,” Mr. Bracey said.
Mr. Bracey is an expert on U.S. race relations, individual rights and criminal procedure. He joined the GW Law faculty in 2008, where he has been a teacher and researcher, and for four years served as the Law School’s senior associate dean for academic affairs.
“This is a crucial role and Chris’s background and experience will enable him to hit the ground running,” said Provost Forrest Maltzman. “I am confident he will continue the model of excellence set by his predecessor, Dianne Martin, to serve our outstanding faculty throughout their careers at GW.”
Mr. Bracey said he hopes to provide a pathway for faculty to participate in university policy making and to connect administrators with faculty members to draw on for insight. Dr. Martin successfully developed a philosophy of shared governance within the university, Mr. Bracey said, a culture he has embraced.
“The most important feature is to make sure the voice of the faculty is heard at critical moments in administrative decision making,” he said. “When you position faculty to succeed, you position students to succeed as well.”
Law School Dean Blake D. Morant said Mr. Bracey will be a valued addition to the administration.
"I am thrilled that Christopher Bracey was selected for this important role in the GW administration,” he said. “Chris is a bright and skilled administrator with a deep commitment to faculty success. We are fortunate to have him as part of the leadership team."
Law Professor and co-director of the National Security and U.S. Foreign Relations Law Program Gregory Maggs said the university is in great hands with Mr. Bracey.
"Chris Bracey served the Law School extremely well as the senior associate dean for academic affairs, and is a brilliant choice for the position of vice provost,” he said.
Mr. Bracey is a graduate of the University of North Carolina and Harvard Law School, where he was supervising editor on the Harvard Law Review. He also clerked for Royce C. Lamberth of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Before coming to GW Mr. Bracey taught at Northwestern University School of Law.
Mr. Bracey is the author of Saviors or Sellouts: The Promise and Peril of Black Conservatism, from Booker T. Washington to Condoleezza Rice and co-author of The Dred Scott Case: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives.