Dear Members of the Georgetown University Community,
We are pleased to announce that Dr. Alison Mackey has been appointed Vice President for Graduate Studies at Georgetown University, beginning July 1, 2026. She succeeds Dr. Alexander Sens, Interim Vice President for Graduate Studies.
A Georgetown faculty member for 28 years, Mackey’s many roles have included serving as a senator on the Georgetown University Faculty Senate and the former department chair and director of graduate studies in the Department of Linguistics, in the College of Arts & Sciences.
Mackey’s proven dedication to serving the academic community at Georgetown and beyond, and her detailed vision for leading graduate education through significant internal and external transformations, distinguished her throughout our comprehensive search process. Her leadership elevated the profile of the Department of Linguistics, establishing Georgetown as a top 20 institution for linguistics study globally. During her 12-year tenure as editor-in-chief of Cambridge University Press’ Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, Mackey’s strategic and analytical insight helped the journal climb to first place in the world ranking of applied linguistics journals.
In this new role, Mackey will serve a three-year term leading the Office of Graduate Studies. The office supports Georgetown’s graduate education, community and research, acting as a central resource across schools and campuses. As vice president, Mackey will provide oversight and strategic vision over university-wide issues related to graduate education, coordinate with schools to uphold baseline academic policy, implement programs and manage resources, and facilitate graduate student enrollment and enrichment.
Mackey has served as the chair of the Department of Linguistics since 2020. She has received multiple university-level accolades, including both the President’s Award for Distinguished Scholar-Teachers and the Provost’s Career Research Achievement Award in 2019. Dr. Mackey is also the 2025 recipient of the College of Arts & Science’s Condé Nast Award, which honors faculty members who demonstrate distinguished teaching, research and service and leadership.
Within her field, Mackey is one of the world’s most highly cited scholars in the areas of applied linguistics, second language acquisition and research methodology. She has published over 150 journal articles and book chapters and 22 books. Mackey has also won the most prestigious prizes in her field, including the American Association for Applied Linguistics Distinguished Scholarship and Service Award and the International Association for Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT)’s Distinguished Achievement Award.
We wish to express our sincere gratitude to Dr. Sens for his leadership of graduate education at Georgetown over the past six years, including guiding Graduate Studies through a significant evolution nearly four years in the making. As outgoing Dean of the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences and Interim Vice President for Graduate Studies, Sens has established a firm foundation for the Office of Graduate Studies and ensured continued support for all members of our graduate community. We are also appreciative of the faculty committee who assisted in the search process, including committee chair and Associate Professor Michelle Wang and Professors Peter Olmsted, Bill Rebeck and Yvonne Tew.
Please join us in congratulating Dr. Mackey in her new role. We look forward to her leadership of Graduate Studies and her continued contributions to the wider Georgetown community.
Sincerely,
Soyica Diggs Colbert
Interim Provost
Norman J. Beauchamp Jr.
Executive Vice President for Health Sciences
Joshua C. Teitelbaum
Interim Dean and Executive Vice President, Law Center