Gerard (“Gerry”) O’Sullivan, PhD, is the current Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs for Salus at Drexel University. He first started on an interim basis in March 2023, then transitioned to permanent as of October 1, 2023. Dr. O’Sullivan was invited to serve as ongoing provost and vice president of Academic Affairs by University president Michael Mittelman, OD ‘80, MPH, MBA, FACHE, FAAO.
Dr. O’Sullivan has spent the entirety of his 35-year career in higher education serving non-profit independent colleges and universities. Dr. O’Sullivan also brings a wealth of accreditation experience, both at the institution level (Middle States Commission on Higher Education) and programmatic (e.g., ACOE, ARC-PA, CCA, etc.). In 2016, he was recruited to become the senior vice president for accreditation and compliance for a Pennsylvania-based online provider management company, at the same time he was forming his own practice in higher education consulting. Given this rich, deep history and experience with accreditation, Dr. O’Sullivan is playing an integral part in the current merger process with Drexel University, pending all required approvals. Prior to starting full-time at the University, since around 2015, Dr. O’Sullivan and his team provided advisory services to campuses facing financial, accreditation-related and strategic challenges, and also assisted with several startups and mergers.
Dr. O’Sullivan has served in numerous positions as a higher education professional, including faculty member, department chair, program director, dean, and vice president. In addition, while originally hailing from New York City, he regards the Philadelphia area as his adoptive home. He has spent the better part of his adult life in the Delaware Valley, and he currently lives in Delaware County with his wife, Lesley and their two cats. Dr. O’Sullivan and his wife have two adult sons and are passionate about animal rights, as well as developing curricula for graduate-level seminars. He and his wife are fond of travel, art and music and are active in supporting regional and national nonprofits.