Noviello Returns to VSU to Lead Academic Affairs

Dr. Sheri Noviello, interim provost and vice president for the Division of Academic Affairs at Valdosta State University

VALDOSTA — Dr. Sheri Noviello, former dean of Valdosta State University’s College of Nursing and Health Sciences, recently returned to Blazer Nation to serve as interim provost and vice president of the Division of Academic Affairs. 

Noviello is responsible for guiding VSU’s efforts to promote excellence in teaching, learning, research, and service. She collaborates with faculty and oversees the education of VSU’s undergraduate and graduate students, doing her part to ensure they have the opportunities necessary to develop the communication skills, connections, and critical thinking required to turn their ideas into their very own success story.

“I will spend a good bit of my time in the first few weeks listening,” she says. “I believe it is important to hear about highlights and concerns from a variety of constituents across campus before taking action.”

Noviello initially joined the VSU community in April 2014 as associate dean of the College of Nursing and Health Sciences. She was asked to serve as interim dean of the college in July 2014 and was named dean in January 2016. 

Under Noviello’s leadership, faculty and staff in VSU’s College of Nursing and Health Sciences helped the university achieve a number of significant milestones, including the following:

• VSU’s Bachelor of Science in Exercise Physiology program earned initial accreditation by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Programs.

• VSU increased its first-time pass rate for Bachelor of Science in Nursing students taking the National Council Licensure Examination.

• VSU opened its state-of-the-art Center for Exercise Medicine and Rehabilitation.

• VSU developed the new Master of Science in Exercise Physiology program and submitted a proposal for a Doctor of Nursing Practice program, which was later approved.

Noviello’s middle son, Kaleb, is a three-time VSU College of Nursing and Health Sciences graduate, which gives her firsthand experience in the importance of strengthening the family and school collaboration and how that impacts student success. Her son earned a Bachelor of Science in Exercise Physiology in 2017, a Master of Science in Exercise Physiology in 2019, and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 2021.

“He is currently doing travel nursing with his wife, who is also a nurse,” she says. “They just finished contracts in Tampa, Florida, and are awaiting their next assignment. I am very proud that he is a VSU triple Blazer. He is well-prepared for his roles.”

Noviello holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Columbus College in Columbus; a Master of Science in Nursing, with a focus on adult health and education, from Troy State University in Montgomery, Alabama, which she followed with post-master’s training in pediatrics at the university’s Phenix City campus; and a Doctor of Philosophy, with a focus on nursing across the lifespan, from the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta.  From 1991 to March 2014, she served Columbus State University, where she worked her way through the academic ranks within the institution’s School of Nursing, from instructor to assistant professor to associate professor to assistant director then director of the nursing program to tenured professor.

After serving as dean of the College of Nursing and Health Sciences at VSU, Noviello went on to serve as dean of the College of Health Sciences at Georgia College and State University from July 2019 through May 2023.

“I left part of my heart at VSU when I left four years ago, and I feel as if I am coming home,” she said. “I am excited to partner with individuals who have a passion for VSU and will continue to work hard to move the institution forward.” 

Noviello succeeds Dr. Robert "Bob" Smith, who served as provost and vice president for the Division of Academic Affairs at VSU for six years. He was recently named chancellor of Louisiana State University in Shreveport. She and her husband, Kevin, have been married for 33-plus years. They have three adult sons and two grandchildren.