Linda Renzulli joined the provost’s office as senior associate vice provost for faculty affairs (SAVPFA) on January 12, 2026.

Renzulli is a professor of sociology and served as head of the Department of Sociology from 2016–2025. During her tenure as department head, she advanced interdisciplinary initiatives, strengthened faculty mentoring, and developed new academic programs.

Leadership in higher education has been a consistent focus of Renzulli’s career. She has participated in several national and institutional leadership programs, including the CIC/Big Ten Academic Leadership Program, HERS: Women in Higher Education Leadership, the Department Executive Officers’ Seminar, mediation training at Purdue University, and the Future Leaders Program at the University of Georgia.

Her research centers on the intersection of organizations and social stratification in both K–12 and higher education. She has published extensively on charter school legislation, school formation, segregation, and school failure. Her current National Science Foundation–funded project examines Parent Teacher Associations and their implications for school stratification.

Renzulli served as editor of Sociology of Education, an American Sociological Association journal, from 2016–2021, and was inducted into the Sociological Research Association in 2023. Renzulli earned her bachelor’s degree in sociology and special education from Rutgers University and completed her Ph.D. in sociology at the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill in 2001. She began her academic career at the University of Georgia, where she rose through the faculty ranks to full professor and served as director of graduate studies before joining Purdue in 2016.

Contact Information

• 765-496-6708
• lrenzull@purdue.edu