Emilia Zankina has been appointed vice provost for global engagement effective July 1. She will also continue as dean of Temple Rome.
In 2022, Emilia was appointed interim vice provost for global engagement. She has done extraordinary work over the last year, leveraging her expertise in international education to build strong partnerships to advance new opportunities for engagement and academic opportunity. For example, this February, Emilia co-organized a conference with 13 other Philadelphia-area colleges and universities and 19 globally minded Philadelphia organizations to develop a strategy to promote Philadelphia as a global education hub.
Emilia joined the Temple community in March 2020 as the dean of Temple University Rome and led the Rome campus through the pandemic, restoring all operations and academic programming. Under her direction, Temple Rome was among the first half-dozen U.S. programs in Italy to restart in-person instruction, gaining recognition for best practices in the field of study abroad and international programs. She has also launched new initiatives, including precollege workshops, a visiting artist residency, a revamped Adult Study Abroad Program, campus improvements, and a new marketing and recruitment campaign.
Prior to her roles at Temple, Emilia served as provost of the American University in Bulgaria, associate director of the Center for Russian and East European Studies at the University of Pittsburgh and managing editor of the highly ranked academic journal East European Politics and Societies.
She holds a Ph.D. in International Affairs and a Certificate in Advanced East European Studies from the University of Pittsburgh and publishes on topics such as democratization and elite transformation, populism, civil service reform, and gender political representation. Emilia is a dedicated political science teacher and volunteers with various organizations that support democratic governance and art and culture. She has a passion for dance and languages and is an active dance teacher and speaks more than five languages.