Lori Underwood
Vice Provost
Dr. Lori Underwood is a member of the senior academic leadership team responsible for working collaboratively with other senior administrators, staff and faculty on planning and implementation of the university's academic vision and mission. She serves as dean of the Honors Program and dean of interdisciplinary studies. Her responsibilities, among others, also include:
- Global operations of the university
- Study abroad
- Center for Community Engagement
- Center for Effective Teaching
- Pre-law program
- Faculty evaluation processes
Underwood has been at Christopher Newport for over 20 years, and previously served for nine years as dean of the College of Arts and Humanities, encompassing English, fine art and art history, history, modern and classical languages and literatures, performing arts, philosophy and religion, and the Public History Center.
She served four years as the chair of the Department of Philosophy and Religion. She is a professor of philosophy with a secondary appointment in leadership studies. She has led the presidential scholars program for 18 years and founded the Global Conference on Women and Gender, which brings scholars from various nations to our campus.
She holds a PhD in philosophy from the University of Missouri and an MA and BA from the University of Memphis. Underwood's teaching and research focus on Kantian ethics. She was the first winner of the Hook Award for excellence in teaching, the first winner of our Faculty Excellence Award in Service and has been voted professor of the year by the Student Government Association.
Underwood has written three books and edited four other volumes, as well as authoring numerous peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. She chaired the Native American and Indigenous Philosophers Committee for the American Philosophical Association, and lectures for the archdiocese of Richmond on biblical ethics.