| Gretchen Ritter | |
| Office1: | Vice Chancellor & Provost of Syracuse University |
| Term Start1: | October 1, 2021 |
| Term End1: | June 30, 2024 |
| Predecessor1: | John Liu |
| Successor1: | Lois Agnew (interim) |
| Office2: | Dean & Vice Provost of Ohio State University College of Arts and Sciences |
| Term Start2: | August 1, 2019 |
| Term End2: | August 31, 2021 |
| Predecessor2: | Janet M. Box-Steffensmeier |
| Successor2: | David G. Horn |
| Office3: | Dean of Cornell University College of Arts and Sciences |
| Term Start3: | August 1, 2013 |
| Term End3: | August 31, 2018 |
| Predecessor3: | Peter Lepage |
| Successor3: | Ray Jayawardhana |
| Office4: | Vice provost of University of Texas at Austin |
| Term Start4: | 2009 |
| Term End4: | July 31, 2013 |
| Birth Date: | 1960 12, df=yes |
| Nationality: | American |
| Education: | Cornell University (BS) Massachusetts Institute of Technology (PhD) |
| Profession: | Professor |
Gretchen Ritter (born December 27, 1960) is an American political scientist and academic administrator who was most recently vice chancellor, provost, and chief academic officer of Syracuse University.[1] She was previously the executive dean and vice provost of Ohio State University's College of Arts and Sciences from 2019 to 2021.[2]
Ritter grew up in Upstate New York.[3] A "third-generation Cornellian", she graduated from Cornell University with a BS in government in 1983.[3] She later earned a Ph.D. in political science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.[3]
Ritter is a leading expert in the history of women's constitutional rights and contemporary issues concerning democracy and citizenship in American politics.[4] Prior to becoming an academic administrator, Ritter taught at MIT, Princeton University, Harvard University, and the University of Texas at Austin.[5] [6]
From 2009 to 2013, she was the vice provost for undergraduate education and faculty governance at the University of Texas at Austin.[3] In 2013, she became the first woman to serve as the Harold Tanner Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Cornell University, a position she held until 2018.[7]
In 2014, Ritter interviewed Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg at the New-York Historical Society.[8] [9]
From 2019 to 2021, she served as the executive dean and vice provost of Ohio State University's College of Arts and Sciences.[2] Ritter officially left her positions at Ohio State in August 2021 and became the vice chancellor, provost, and chief academic officer of Syracuse University in October 2021.[1] [10]
Ritter is the author of two books, The Constitution as Social Design: Gender and Civic Membership in the American Constitutional Order and Goldbugs and Greenbacks: The Antimonology Tradition and the Politics of Finance in America, 1865–1896.[11] She is a co-editor of Democratization in America: A Comparative and Historical Perspective.[11]
Ritter is the recipient of several fellowships and awards, including the National Endowment for Humanities Fellowship, the Radcliffe Research Partnership Award, and a Liberal Arts Fellowship at Harvard Law School.[4] She is also a member of the American Political Science Association and the Council on Foreign Relations.[4]