Pavithra Narayanan

Excellence in Institutional Service

Associate Dean and Associate Professor
English and College of Arts and Sciences

An English professor who earned her bachelor’s degree in zoology, Pavithra Narayanan infuses her institutional service with active support for scholarly and creative activity and the intentional building of trust and collegiality among colleagues.

Pavithra served five years as the program leader for English at WSU Vancouver, tackling accreditation protocols, curricula oversight, teaching assignments, and more. For three years of that same period, she also served as co-director of the Collective for Social and Environmental Justice, where she managed budgets and coordinated programming.

For the past five years, Pavithra has taken on the roles of associate director and then the academic director for the College of Arts and Sciences at WSU Vancouver. In addition to overseeing campus-specific operations, she serves as the liaison between local academic programs and their departments and schools in Pullman and on other WSU campuses.

She is dedicated to meeting the needs of students and goes the extra mile to support faculty in providing the highest quality education possible.

Pavithra’s service to her academic unit, the college, and the University has inspired colleagues across WSU disciplines and campuses and beyond.