Thomas J. Vicino

An experienced administrator with demonstrated results, Dr. Vicino brings a passion for building programs, empowering faculty and students, and leading the scholarly profession. 

“Purpose-driven, inclusive, collaborative leadership for public impact”

With two decades of experience as an academic researcher, educator and administrator, I have committed my career to building programs, supporting faculty and students, and advancing the role of scholarship in service to communities. My core belief is that higher education has a responsibility not only to generate knowledge, but to apply it so that we can improve lives, strengthen places, and prepare the next generation of leaders.

At the heart of my approach is a commitment to inclusive excellence and global citizenship. As a first-generation college student, I understand the transformative power of access, support, and belonging. My journey in higher education took me across public and private institutions, large and small, in the North and the South of the United States, and around the world from Brazil to Japan, all united by a shared commitment to supporting students from a wide range of life experiences and backgrounds. These experiences shaped my conviction that every student and every community should feel seen, valued, and empowered.

My administrative journey has included roles as a Director of the Master of Public Administration program, Chair of the Department of Political Science, and Associate Dean of the College of Social Sciences and Humanities at Northeastern University, prior to my current appointment as Dean at the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University. Along the way, I have built new programs, led reaccreditation efforts, designed market-driven curricula, cultivated experiential learning and global engagement, and forged partnerships across sectors. These efforts reflect my belief that scholarship and public service must go beyond the walls of the university, and engage communities where they live, work and aspire.

As an administrator, I believe in leadership that is collaborative and transparent and grounded in vision, mission, and measurable goals, yet open to input, curiosity and adaptation. I define my role as serving the institution, its people and its public charge: articulating a shared vision; creating the structures and conditions to move toward that vision; advocating for resources and partnerships; facilitating connections among faculty, staff, students, and external stakeholders; and communicating clearly about purpose, progress and outcomes.

Leadership Commitments

Across all my leadership and service roles, I have weaved together three enduring commitments:

• Educational access and student success: ensuring that students from all backgrounds have opportunities to thrive, supported by curricula that connect theory and practice, local and global engagement, and pathways to lifelong learning.

• Collaboration and interdisciplinarity: recognizing that today’s challenges, from economic prosperity to climate change, sit at the intersection of disciplines, sectors and geographies, and demand teams, institutions, and modes of work that cross traditional boundaries.

• Inclusive excellence: building environments where our backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives contribute to richer scholarship, teaching, and community engagement.

Foundational Values

• Lead with purpose
• Center student and human flourishing
• Embrace interdisciplinarity and innovation
• Advance inclusive excellence
• Engage communities and translate knowledge into action
• Be adaptive, strategic, and accountable

Ultimately, my leadership centers on ensuring that our educational institutions can be places where every student, faculty and staff member, and partners across industry, government, and the community, feel empowered to engage deeply, contribute meaningfully, and lead responsibly. Together, we will build a future where scholarship meets service; where data, ethics and technology converge for the public good; where our cities and their partners come together to shape education for the challenges of our time.