Elizabeth Hudson was appointed and started her tenure as Illinois Tech’s provost, senior vice president for academic affairs, and chief academic officer on August 1, 2025. She succeeds Jamshid Mohammadi, who served in an interim capacity since February 2025.
A highly accomplished scholar and academic leader at some of the world’s most admired universities, Hudson joined Illinois Tech after most recently serving as dean of the College of Arts, Media, and Design at Northeastern University, where she led a period of significant academic transformation. During her tenure, she partnered with computing, engineering, business, and science colleagues to launch new interdisciplinary programs; grew graduate and undergraduate enrollment dramatically; expanded research output sevenfold; and built an external research ecosystem across the college through fostering interdisciplinary collaboration and launching new strategic initiatives. She also led significant investments and growth in full-time faculty, staff, and technology labs while ensuring long-term financial strength.
Prior to her time at Northeastern, Hudson served as the inaugural director of the New Zealand School of Music from 2006–13, a joint venture of Massey University and Victoria University of Wellington, where she led a successful academic and operational merger, advanced research performance, and established long-term financial stability. She also served as chair of the McIntire Department of Music at the University of Virginia from 2002–05, in addition to holding a multitude of leadership roles, including serving as director of undergraduate and graduate programs, during 15 years at Virginia.
Hudson received a B.A. in music from Smith College and an M.A. and Ph.D. in musicology from Cornell University.