Profile

Teresa K. Woodruff, Ph.D.

MSU Foundation Professor, Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, Michigan State University

Bio

Teresa K. Woodruff, Ph.D. serves as Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs at Michigan State University. As chief academic officer, Provost Woodruff provides leadership for matters related to academic programs, research, and outreach involving faculty, students, and academic staff. She oversees the quality of instruction, scholarship, and leadership development at the university through collaborative work with deans, faculty, and student leaders. Provost Woodruff directs policies related to the faculty and administers the university’s procedures and criteria for faculty appointments, promotions, and tenure. Woodruff is responsible for advancing the academic mission of MSU, enabling the quality of student learning, curriculum oversight, as well as admissions and recruitment for undergraduate and graduate programs. She enables strategic priorities and related academic budgetary planning. Prior to joining MSU in August of 2020, Woodruff served as the Dean and Associate Provost for Graduate Education in The Graduate School at Northwestern University and held the Watkins Professorship in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. In addition to her role as provost, Woodruff is a MSU Foundation Professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Biology and the Department of Biomedical Engineering. Woodruff is an internationally recognized biologist specializing in reproductive science. In 2006, she coined the term “oncofertility” to describe the merging of two fields: oncology and fertility preservation. Working at the national level, Woodruff championed the new National Institutes of Health (NIH) policy mandating the inclusion of females in fundamental research. As a leading research scientist, teacher, and mentor, Woodruff was awarded the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science Mentoring by President Obama in an oval office ceremony in 2011. Most recently, Woodruff received the Endocrine Society’s 2021 Auerbach Laureate Award, a top honor that recognizes the highest achievements in the field of endocrinology and is in the inaugural class of distinguished fellows of the Society for the Study of Reproduction (2021). She holds 17 U.S. Patents, is the past president of the Endocrine Society and was the editor-in-chief for the journal Endocrinology. She has published over 400 papers and edited or authored 6 books. She is an elected fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2020), the National Academy of Medicine (2018), the National Academy of Inventors (2018), the American Institute for Medical and Biomedical Engineers (2017), the Guggenheim Foundation (2017) and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2006). Additionally, Woodruff holds the 2022 Distinguished Woman in Higher Education Leadership Award, awarded by the American Council of Education Michigan Women’s Network. Woodruff holds honorary degrees from Bates College and the University of Birmingham School of Medicine and has delivered the commencement address at numerous institutions. She is civically active and a member of the Economic Club of Chicago and a former Board of Trustees member for The Adler Planetarium and the Young Women’s Leadership Charter School.