Vice Provost for Graduate and Professional Education and Dean of the Graduate School
Dr. Elisia L. Cohen
Dr. Elisia L. Cohen became Vice Provost of Graduate and Professional Education and Dean of the Graduate School on June 15, 2026. She most recently served as professor, John and Elizabeth Cowles Chair in Journalism and director of the Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication in the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Minnesota.
Dr. Cohen joined the University of Minnesota from the University of Kentucky in 2017, where she served as the Gifford Blyton Endowed Professor and chair of the Department of Communication. A nationally recognized health communication scholar, her research focuses on developing targeted communication strategies to improve cancer prevention and immunization outcomes, particularly in medically underserved communities.
Her work has led to innovative social media and video-based interventions for cervical cancer prevention and HPV vaccination and has been supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, and private industry. In recognition of her leadership and contributions to the field of health communication, she was elected as a Fellow of the International Communication Association, received the American Public Health Association's Mayhew Derryberry Award and the University of Kentucky's Sarah Bennett Holmes Award.
Dr. Cohen earned her Ph.D. in Communication from the University of Southern California, a master's degree from Wake Forest University, and a bachelor's degree from the University of Louisville.