Office of the Dean

Christa Davis Acampora serves as the Buckner Clay Professor of Philosophy and Dean of the College and Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at the University of Virginia, where she is leading a transformative vision to position UVA as the nation’s best public university and among the world’s most outstanding institutions. Her leadership is rooted in the confidence that the pathway to achieving this ambition runs directly through the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, the intellectual and academic heart of the University. 

This includes delivering a second-to-none undergraduate experience that is also an unprecedented achievement in public higher education; recruiting, advancing, and re-recruiting extraordinary talent; garnering national and international recognition for research excellence and academic innovation; and focusing on graduate excellence and expanding the resources supporting it. The importance of the latter has led her to devote philanthropic energy to achieving a goal of more than doubling the size of the endowment for the Graduate School. A signal intention guiding this work entails fostering a deep sense of belonging for all members of the community.  

Since Acampora's arrival in 2022, Arts & Sciences has realized significant progress toward its 2030 goals, including: implementation of a new First Year curriculum introducing students to the wonder and discovery of a liberal arts education; a transformation of undergraduate pre-major advising; unprecedented growth in the endowment for the Graduate School; increased graduate student support of more than fifty percent; greatly expanded resources supporting faculty research and creative activity; and increased success in faculty and staff recruitment, recognition, and retention.  

An accomplished scholar with international recognition and distinction, Acampora specializes in modern European philosophy, moral psychology, and aesthetics. Her philosophical interests range from artificial intelligence and conceptions of responsibility to the beauty of baseball. Currently, she is examining various forms of moral breakdown and what they reveal about morality more generally. Her work-in-progress develops a conceptual framework for analyses of moral transformation, injury, and repair in various contexts, including the experiences of veterans, healthcare workers, and other populations. 

Prior to joining UVA, Acampora served as Deputy Provost at Emory University in Atlanta, where she developed a robust and effective Provost’s Office, contributed to implementation of an ambitious strategic plan, spearheaded senior leadership recruitment, led large-scale research initiatives, and supported leadership of the university planning and budgeting processes for the entire academic division. She taught and mentored students for nearly twenty years at Hunter College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. At Hunter, she also served as Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs and Research, with responsibilities for faculty development and advancement across the full professional lifecycle, leadership for strategic research initiatives, and oversight of research administrative functions. She also served as the elected leader of the comprehensive governance organization. 

Acampora is a native of the Commonwealth.  She earned her Bachelor of Arts cum laude in philosophy from Hollins University and her Ph.D. in philosophy from Emory University.