Bio
Tera R. Jordan, Ph.D., serves as the Assistant Provost for Faculty Success in the Office of the Senior Vice President and Provost at Iowa State University. Since January 1, 2020, she has led university‑wide efforts that strengthen faculty success across all ranks and appointments. Her leadership directly advances the division’s mission to support faculty and expand the university’s impact. Guided by Iowa State University’s land‑grant values and a commitment to accessibility and evidence‑informed practice, Dr. Jordan has built a comprehensive portfolio that supports more than 1,700 faculty members.
Dr. Jordan has reshaped faculty development at Iowa State by revitalizing the ISU ADVANCE program, redesigning faculty onboarding, and expanding workshops and leadership development opportunities across the faculty career cycle. She has strengthened mentoring and institutional guidance through initiatives such as the Term Faculty Learning Community, College Peer Mentors, department chair and academic leader programming, training for promotion and faculty search committees, and the Emerging Leaders Academy. Her collaborative development of guidance documents has provided academic leaders and faculty with clear, actionable tools that enhance consistency and transparency in faculty evaluation and mentoring.
A trusted partner, Dr. Jordan has created or revised key institutional resources, improved policies and processes affecting faculty work, and collaborated closely with the Faculty Senate, University Human Resources, University General Counsel, and college leaders. She chairs the Faculty Work‑Life Advisory Committee and serves as the institutional lead for the Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education (COACHE) Faculty Job Satisfaction Survey, using evidence to guide institutional strategy and strengthen the faculty experience. Dr. Jordan’s leadership extends nationally through institutional partnerships, contributions to professional networks, and the dissemination of Iowa State’s faculty success resources and models.
Dr. Jordan is a graduate of Indiana University-Bloomington and The Pennsylvania State University and earned degrees in Human Development and Family Studies. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Georgia and later worked at UGA as a research scientist. She moved to Iowa State University and began serving the institution as a faculty member in August 2012. Dr. Jordan climbed the ranks at Iowa State and is now a professor of Human Development and Family Studies. Her contributions span scholarship on marriage, Type 2 diabetes, qualitative and mixed methods research, community health and well-being, and the development of early-career scholars.
Contact for questions about:
- Academic Leadership Programming
- Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education (COACHE) Survey Data
- Faculty Development Programming
- Faculty Mentoring
- Faculty Work-Life Advisory Committee
- ISU ADVANCE
- Onboarding/New Faculty Orientation