Josipa Roksa

Full Bio

As Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education, Josipa Roksa collaborates with academic and student affairs units to ensure that all undergraduates, regardless of their backgrounds or prior experiences, have opportunities to thrive at UVA.  

UVA’s Strategic Plan has articulated a vision for developing “the full potential of talented students from all walks of life” and for being “one of the very best universities for first-generation and underrepresented students, recognizing that creating economic and social opportunities is one of the highest callings for a public university.” Roksa’s endeavors center on making this vision a reality.    

Roksa is currently leading initiatives related to undergraduate advising and student success in STEM. After chairing the Advising Task Force, which articulated a vision for holistic and collaborative advising at UVA, she currently serves as a Sponsor and Project Director for implementation of the Stellic Advising Platform. To support student success in STEM, she works with faculty and staff across the University as Program Director for two Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Initiatives: Driving Change and Inclusive Excellences 3 (IE3). Roksa serves as a liaison to student affairs and has responsibility for University activities related to advising, academic support, undergraduate research and fellowships. She also collaborates on efforts to leverage data to understand students’ experiences and outcomes, and works with undergraduate schools to ensure that policies and practices reflect our ideals and center student success.  

Roksa is a Professor of Sociology and Education who studies inequality in higher education. Her current research focuses on understanding inequalities in STEM fields, especially at the intersection of first-generation status, race/ethnicity, and gender.  

Roksa earned her Ph.D. in sociology from New York University (NYU) and B.A. in psychology from Mount Holyoke College.