Current Position and Past Experience
Marisa Pagnattaro is currently Vice President for Instruction and Vice Provost for Academic Planning at the University of Georgia and has been in this position since 2022. Pagnattaro oversees the University’s enrollment management, student success initiatives, academic affairs, instructional infrastructure as well as student and faculty support services. She also provides academic oversight to UGA’s extended campuses in Washington DC, Griffin, and Gwinnett as well as pre-health and pre-law advising offices. Prior to being named Vice President for Instruction and Senior Vice Provost for Academic Planning, Pagnattaro served as Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, she chaired the UGA Arts Council and oversaw the Georgia Museum of Art, McBee Institute of Higher Education, and the Performing Arts Center. She also worked closely with the Office of Global Engagement. She jointly oversaw the UGA Griffin campus with the Dean and Director of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. Before that, Pagnattaro was the Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Programs in the Terry College where she led strategic planning efforts related to research and graduate education, directed the college’s international programs, and chaired its Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Board.

Education, Honors and Achievements
Pagnattaro earned her bachelor’s degree in English from Colgate University and holds a Juris Doctor from New York Law School and Doctor of Philosophy in English from UGA.

Personal Details and Community Involvement
Pagnattaro is the author or co-author of more than 30 journal articles and book chapters and numerous shorter works. She is the author of “In Defiance of the Law: From Anne Hutchinson to Toni Morrison,” which explores literary depictions of the American legal system. She is the co-author of three additional books, including a widely used business law textbook. Pagnattaro was a 2016-2017 fellow of the SEC Academic Leadership Development Program and was an inaugural fellow in the University’s Women’s Leadership Development Program. She has been an active member of University Council, serving on its Executive Committee from 2012 to 2015 and on four additional committees from 2008 to 2017. Her additional interdisciplinary committee work includes having served on the Executive Committee of the UGA Teaching Academy and on the Faculty Advisory Board for the Center for Asian Studies in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences.