AU provost kicks off academic year announcing new cohort of Provost Fellows

Maggy G. Tomova, PhD, executive vice president for academic affairs and provost, welcomed faculty and staff to a new academic year at her Welcome Back Gathering on Aug. 26. Faculty and staff from the Office of the Provost enjoyed coffee, snacks and fellowship together to kick off the new year.

In her remarks to those in attendance, Tomova shared that her goal is to pick a guiding word or theme to focus on with each academic year. For the 2026-27 academic year, the provost’s guiding word is “innovation.”

“This year, my guiding word is innovation. Because the face of higher education is evolving rapidly, innovation is essential to prepare our students to succeed in the workforce. Innovation does not happen in a silo; it only happens through collaboration, shared ideas, and a willingness to think differently. Faculty and staff are essential to this work, and I look forward to seeing how their innovative ideas and expertise move Augusta University forward,” Tomova said.

Tomova shared the story of the creation of the digital camera and encouraged managers within her office to encourage innovation amongst their teams.

Advancing Innovation through Faculty Leadership

Tomova recently announced the following faculty as the 2026 cohort of Provost Fellows:

• Jie Chen, PhD, School of Public Health
• Daria Ilatovskaya, MS, PhD, FAHA, Medical College of Georgia
• Stephanie Johnson, PhD, College of Allied Health Sciences
• Robert Saunders, PhD, Katherine Reese Pamplin College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences
• He Yang, PhD, College of Science and Mathematics

The Provost’s Office fellowship is an annual application-based cohort. This fellowship offers faculty the opportunity to gain insight into the work of the Provost’s Office, including academic policy development, institutional planning and faculty processes while engaging directly with AU leadership.

As part of the Provost’s Office fellowship, each fellow identifies and leads a project they consider most important to AU, allowing their expertise to directly inform university priorities. By empowering fellows to contribute innovative ideas and foster collaboration, the fellowship supports AU’s ongoing mission and strategic plans.

“I was impressed by the depth of talent, leadership, and innovative thinking represented in this year’s applicant pool. The faculty selected as Provost Fellows will bring fresh perspectives, diverse expertise, and a willingness to think creatively about opportunities to advance Augusta University’s priorities. I am excited to see how their ideas and leadership contribute to the important work ahead,” Tomova said.

Meet the Fellows

Jie Chen, PhD

Jie Chen, PhD, is a professor of biostatistics in the Department of Biostatistics, Data Science and Epidemiology and associate dean for Academic and Student Affairs for the School of Public Health. Her major research interests include statistical change point analysis, model selection criteria, statistics in bioinformatics, biostatistics, statistical modeling of high-throughput genomic and biomedical data, high-dimensional inference and Bayesian inference.

As a Provost Fellow, Chen will collaborate with faculty, administrators and staff to evaluate the effectiveness of current course evaluation practices, refine the current evaluation instrument, review student response patterns, and strengthen student participation rates.  

“I am honored to be named as an Augusta University Provost Fellow and grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with colleagues across the university. I look forward to using data-informed approaches to strengthen our course evaluation practices, improve student engagement and participation in the process, and generate meaningful feedback that advances teaching excellence, learning outcomes, and student success,” Chen said.

Daria Ilatovskaya, MS, PhD, FAHA

Daria Ilatovskaya, PhD, is a professor of physiology at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University and director of the physiology graduate program. Her research defines mechanisms of renal blood pressure regulation, with particular emphasis on sex-specific renal metabolism. Ilatovskaya’s integrative research program spans molecular, cellular, and whole-animal approaches and is supported by NIH and U54 funding, an American Heart Association (AHA) Transformational Award and the AHA Strategically Focused Research Network on Cardiometabolic Kidney Syndrome in Women.

In her role as a Provost Fellow, Ilatovskaya will work with Susan Davies, PhD, who is executive vice president for Enrollment and Student Affairs, to support the implementation, testing and campuswide launch of JagLife, a new platform designed to help students efficiently document their achievements, extracurricular activities and broader university experiences.

“I am honored to be selected as a Provost Fellow and excited for the opportunity to contribute to initiatives that shape the future of Augusta University. I look forward to working alongside university leadership, learning from different perspectives, and helping advance meaningful efforts that strengthen our academic community and support our students, faculty, and institutional mission,” Ilatovskaya said.

Stephanie Johnson, PhD

Stephanie Johnson, PhD, is an occupational therapist (OT), associate professor, and assistant dean of clinical practice for the College of Allied Health Sciences. After working as a senior OT, she transitioned into the classroom to teach adult and neurodegenerative topics. Johnson is a member of the Interprofessional Education and Alumni Committees. She serves within the university as co-chair of the Curriculum and Academic Policy Committee for the Faculty Senate, faculty representative for the Enrollment Planning Committee and member of the USG Core IMPACTS Curriculum Committee.

Through her Provost Fellowship, Johnson will serve as project lead for the Course Attributes Initiative.

“One of my primary motivations for pursuing this fellowship is my heart for student success, and I have seen firsthand how thoughtful leadership and effective academic policies can remove barriers and create opportunities for students to excel. As a Provost Fellow, I am eager to learn from and partner with AU leadership to better understand the intricacies and daily decision making needed within higher education so I can then serve our community here at AU in a more tangible, impactful, and scalable way,” Johnson said.

Robert Saunders, PhD

Robert C. Saunders, PhD, is an assistant professor of music education, serves as music education coordinator and teaches courses in music education, music technology and teacher preparation. His research focused on music teacher education, community music learning environments, curriculum design and integrating AI and emerging technologies into music pedagogy. He contributes to strategic initiatives, such as Faculty Activity Reporting (FAR) system implementation through Interfolio, USG Core IMPACTS curriculum review and Sustained Faculty Senate leadership.

Saunders’ Provost Fellowship project, Faculty Success 360, explores how Augusta University can leverage the implementation of FAR through Interfolio to strengthen faculty development, mentoring and institutional effectiveness.

“I am excited and honored to be selected for this prestigious opportunity to learn from academic leadership at AU. This fellowship will allow me to collaborate with administration to explore and develop leadership opportunities for all faculty, graduate, and post-doctoral students. AU has a great leadership team, and I am proud to assist creating excellent programs designed to support my peers,” Saunders said.

He Yang, PhD

He Yang PhD, is an associate professor of mathematics whose research focuses on numerical analysis, scientific computing, scientific machine learning and applications of mathematical modeling, particularly the development and analysis of efficient numerical algorithms for physics-based partial differential equation models and related inverse problems. Yang has received multiple recognitions for research and faculty achievement, including a Governor’s Teaching Fellowship, two Excellence in Research Awards and an Outstanding Young Faculty Award from the College of Science and Mathematics.

Yang’s Provost Fellowship project will examine how academic preparation, early course performance, credit completion, and gateway course outcomes relate to long-term student success using statistical and machine learning approaches.

“I am deeply honored to be selected as a Provost Fellow and excited for the opportunity to contribute beyond my discipline, working with colleagues across the university to make a broader impact on student success and our institution,” Yang said. “I look forward to bringing my background in computational mathematics, machine learning, and data analytics to this work while growing as an academic leader and learning how to turn evidence into meaningful action.”