A Penn State alumnus has been named as the university’s next chief academic officer.

Fotis Sotiropoulos, a renowned fluid mechanics researcher with 35 years of higher education experience as a professor and administrator, will become Penn State’s executive vice president and provost effective Aug. 11, the university announced on Tuesday. Sotiropoulos has been the provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Virginia Commonwealth University since 2021.

He succeeds Justin Schwartz, who left in April 2024 after two years in the role to become chancellor of the University of Colorado Boulder. Tracy Langkilde, dean of the Eberly College of Science, has served as interim provost since then.

“I could not be more thrilled to welcome Fotis Sotiropoulos back to our Penn State community,” President Neeli Bendapudi said in a statement. “Fotis is a forward-thinking leader and scientist who is prepared to help us deliver the highest value to students, create an environment that provides opportunities for growth and empowerment for all faculty and staff, and uphold and advance our university’s mission.”

Sotiropoulos was selected after a national search by an 18-member committee that cited his “visionary leadership style, focus on pursuing excellence and commitment to the success of all students, faculty, and staff,” according to the university. They also recognized his experience with “enrollment growth, strategic planning and curriculum transformation, research innovation, and resource management and operational efficiency.”

He will take on a top administrative role at a time when Penn State faces significant change, including, among other issues, the anticipated closure of some Commonwealth Campuses, emerging from a budget deficit, and the coming demographic decline in traditional college-age students nationwide.

“We are in a time of transformative change where we must adapt in order to continue to offer the best student experiences, meet the challenges facing higher education, and support our faculty and staff in their professional endeavors — so they in turn can support our students. Fotis cares deeply about Penn State and has the ability to bring people and perspectives together in support of our greater purpose.”

Penn State noted a long list of Sotiropoulos’ accomplishments at VCU in collaboration with faculty and staff. The included implementation of an enrollment and student success strategy that reversed a decade-long enrollment decline and boosted retention, creation of the VCU Convergence Labs for faculty to organize transdisciplinary research around areas of major societal relevance and development of the Academy of Interdisciplinary Innovation for interdisciplinary degrees in emerging fields and real-world learning.

He also helped launch a new School of Life Sciences and Sustainability, new curricula for AI literacy among all students, expansion of undergraduate research, increases to a historic high in sponsored research funding, and stabilization of the academic budget.

At Penn State, Sotiropoulos will report directly to Bendapudi and will work with deans, chancellors, faculty, and staff across the university. He is tasked with setting and leading the university’s academic priorities, overseeing all academic and academic support units, ranging from colleges to campuses to libraries and student affairs, as well as efforts to strengthen teaching, student success, and innovation in learning.

“Arriving from Greece as a first-generation student, State College was my gateway to the United States and to the transformative power of a Penn State education,” Sotiropoulos said in a statement. “The opportunity to return to my alma mater — an institution that played such a pivotal role in my journey — is both an honor and a deeply meaningful homecoming. Having once walked these halls as a student, I am deeply aware of Penn State’s academic excellence, its land-grant mission, and its unwavering commitment to impact. The University’s mission to advance teaching, research, and public service aligns fully with my own dedication to student success, academic innovation, and interdisciplinary research that improves lives.”

Prior to his role as provost at VCU, he was dean of the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences and served as interim provost at Stony Brook University. He was previously a professor of civil, environmental, and geo-engineering and director of both the St. Anthony Falls Laboratory EOLOS Wind Energy Research Consortium at the University of Minnesota. At Georgia Tech, he was a faculty member in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering and G. W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering.

Sotiropoulos earned a diploma in mechanical engineering from the National Technical University of Athens, Greece, a master’s in aerospace engineering from Penn State, and a doctorate in aerospace engineering from the University of Cincinnati. 

As a researcher, he is a pioneer in the field of fluid mechanics in the areas of turbulence, vortex dynamics, flow-structure interactions, and chaotic dynamics.

“At the nexus of his work is the integration of cutting-edge numerical simulation coupled with laboratory and field experiments to address and solve real-life problems in areas such as wind and tidal energy systems, river restoration, extreme flooding risk assessment and mitigation, hydrodynamics of fish swimming and hemodynamics of heart valves,” Penn State wrote in a news release. “His computational tools are used in industry to optimize wind farms and in-stream and tidal turbine arrays, restore rivers and streams, and assess and mitigate the risk of extreme river flooding, among other applications.”

He has authored more than 215 peer-reviewed journal papers and book chapters, raised more than $40 million in sponsored research funding, and received an array of awards from organizations such as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the American Society of Civil Engineers, and the National Science Foundation.

Langkilde will continue to serve as interim provost through the transition until Sotiropoulos’ arrival in August.

“I want to extend my deepest gratitude to Tracy Langkilde, who has served admirably as our interim provost over the past year,” Bendapudi said. “In a critical time, Tracy stepped up for Penn State and for our students, faculty, and staff, and she has continued to show up every day to advance critical academic, research, student success, graduate education, and retention priorities during this transitional and transformative time for the university.”