Shelome Gooden has been appointed a Provost Faculty Fellow, effective Feb. 24.

Gooden is Pitt’s first-ever assistant vice chancellor for research in the humanities, arts, social sciences, and related fields, and plays a critical role in fostering interdisciplinary collaborations and research synergies beyond laboratory and clinical settings. She also serves as ex-officio on the University Research Council, working to develop institutional-level funding to support research in these disciplines.

In her new role, over the next two years, she will contribute to strategic planning and initiatives aligned with the Plan for Pitt 2028, with a focus on amplifying research in the humanities, arts and social sciences and advancing faculty and leadership development.

Gooden’s leadership roles at Pitt have spanned multiple capacities, including chair of the Department of Linguistics in the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences; research of impact co-chair for Plan for Pitt (2021) and University Faculty Mentorship Committee.

She is a 2022 research leader fellow of the APLU Council on Research. In 2023, she co-created the Humanities, Arts & Social Sciences Research Leaders Network (HASS-RLN), a new national effort to support and advance arts, humanities, social sciences, and humanities-adjacent research at comprehensive research universities.

Gooden holds a BA in linguistics (first-class honors) from the University of the West Indies (Mona, Jamaica) and an MA and Ph.D. in linguistics from The Ohio State University. Her extensive scholarly contributions include peer-reviewed journal articles, edited volumes, special issues of leading linguistics journals, and invited chapters in prestigious handbooks. She is currently co-editor of the flagship journal, Language.