University Life Leadership Team

Mamta Motwani Accapadi, Ph.D. is Penn’s Vice Provost for University Life. She defines her work by saying: “My job is to believe in other people’s children.” She oversees a collaborative collective of departments that support 25,000 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students, as well as Penn faculty, staff, families, alumni, and community members. Dr. Accapadi came to Penn in 2020 from Rollins College, where she served as Vice President for Student Affairs following four years as Dean of Student Life at Oregon State University. Her prior experience at her alma mater, the University of Texas at Austin, includes roles as University Ombudsman, Diversity Education Coordinator, Advisor to Greek Life and Education, Coordinator of the International Teaching Assistant Program, and Assistant Director of the Multicultural Information Center. Recognized nationally as a student affairs thought leader and practitioner, she chaired the NASPA Undergraduate Fellowship Program – which named its annual Outstanding Undergraduate Student Award in her honor. She earned a bachelor’s, master’s, and Ph.D. in Microbiology, all from the University of Texas at Austin.