New College Director of Undergraduate Programs Randall Helmstutler

Following an internal search, Professor Randall Helmstutler has been selected for the position of Director of Undergraduate Programs in the newly formed college of business, computer science, economics, and mathematics.

Randall joined the University of Mary Washington faculty in 2005 after completing his Ph.D. at the University of Virginia, following an M.S. at the University of Illinois, and a B.S. at Radford University, all in mathematics. An advocate for inquiry-based pedagogies and alternative assessment models, Randall serves on the regional executive leadership board for the COMMIT (Community for Mathematics Inquiry in Teaching) network of the Mathematical Association of America. He has organized and chaired special sessions and workshops on IBL and grading-for-growth models for regional and national conferences of the MAA, and is now completing a three-year term on a national conference organization committee for the association.

Randall served as chair of the Department of Mathematics for over six years, overseeing the department over a period of growth. During this time Randall had a significant role in mathematics curricular reform movements at the state and national level. This work led to appointments by VDOE and VCCS as the four-year institution representative for the Commonwealth in multi-year projects such as the national New Mathways program from the University of Texas Dana Center, SCHEV’s Transfer Virginia, and VDOE’s Mathematics Pathways Initiative. In 2022, Randall was nominated to participate in COPLAC’s Beard Leadership Circle, and was later invited to serve as a program organizer and mentor for future cohorts.

In his new leadership role as Director of Undergraduate Programs, Randall will oversee undergraduate recruitment, retention, and graduation initiatives, and will collaborate with the Dean to develop marketing strategies and partnerships. He will play a key role in fostering undergraduate research, innovation, and entrepreneurship while managing academic partnerships. Additionally, Randall will work with faculty and department chairs to drive program innovation, ensure curriculum alignment with industry trends, and facilitate new program development. His leadership will also extend to faculty success, where he will support faculty mentoring, oversee development grants, and advance research initiatives, fostering a culture of continuous growth and academic excellence.

Thanks to the search committee, Larry Lehman (chair), Shawn Humphrey, Smita Jain Oxford, and Jessica Zeitz, for their commitment to a methodical approach to the search process, their diligent and thoughtful analyses, and the effective, great leadership of Professor Lehman.

Please congratulate Professor Helmstutler!