Officials selected Emily Hammond, the current interim vice provost for faculty affairs, for the permanent post Thursday.
Hammond, a former Department of Energy official and GW Law professor, served as the interim vice provost managing faculty personnel since September 2025 and previously held the permanent position from 2022 to 2023. The announcement concludes a nearly semester-long search for a permanent official following former Rumana Riffat’s departure from the post sometime last year to become interim associate dean of academic affairs for the School of Engineering & Applied Science after Jason Zara became the interim dean of the school in June.
The vice provost of faculty affairs oversees the hiring, tenure and retirement of GW faculty, and also manages the Technology Commercialization Office, the Society of the Emeriti, the GW Academic Leadership Academy and the annual Faculty Honors Ceremony.
As interim vice provost for faculty affairs, Hammond presented the University’s annual faculty salary equity review report in February, which identifies outliers in faculty salaries to adjust and make faculty pay more equitable across the University. They have also “led engagement” in the Faculty Senate on protection of academic freedom and federal issues affecting GW, according to a Thursday release.
Granberg also appointed Hammond in January to co-chair the search committee for the University’s next general counsel after Vice President and General Counsel Charles Barber announced he would step down in June.
Hammond said in the Thursday release they are excited to lead faculty and continue implementing GW’s strategic framework, which officials launched in October to guide the University’s direction over the next seven to 10 years.
“I’m delighted to be returning to this role in a permanent capacity,” Hammond said in a release. “Serving the faculty and GW is an honor, especially as we implement the strategic framework, cultivate a community of belonging and contribute to the greater good as world citizens.”
Interim Provost John Lach said at a Faculty Senate meeting in December he planned to launch a formal search for a vice provost of faculty affairs in coming weeks, months after Hammond entered the interim role, and said all tenured faculty who were full professors were eligible to apply.
Lach told the Faculty Senate in January the Faculty Senate Executive Committee voted to submit a list of faculty members the Faculty Senate nominated to serve on the search committee. Forrest Maltzman, former provost and political science professor, chaired the committee.
“Emily’s wisdom, patience and institutional knowledge have enabled them to excel in their interim role,” Maltzman said in a release. “Their appointment to permanent vice provost reflects faculty trust in their leadership and will help to ensure that our new provost can hit the ground running.”
Hammond joined GW Law in 2014 and has a background in energy law, environmental law and administrative law, also formerly serving as senior associate dean for academic affairs, inaugural faculty director of academic sustainability programs for the GW Alliance for a Sustainable Future.
Hammond’s permanent appointment follows officials’ announcement earlier this month that Duke University historian and administrator Edward Balleisen will take on the permanent provost role on July 1, following former Provost Chris Bracey’s June departure. Lach will return to his prior role as dean of the SEAS.
The vice provost of faculty affairs is one of 14 seats in the Office of the Provost’s senior leadership, which the provost leads, according to the office’s website. Both Hammond and Balleisen will oversee the recruitment and hiring of faculty members.
