Dr. Jason Rivera

Dr. Jason Rivera has over two decades of experience in the field of education that spans the K-20 pipeline. He currently serves as the Vice Provost for Student Success and Dean of University College at Ball State University, where he oversees retention and the University Core Curriculum, academic advising, student success coaching, student athlete support services, commuter & transfer student success, and the first-year experience.

Prior to joining Ball State, he served as the vice chancellor for student academic success at Rutgers University–Camden. Dr. Rivera also previously served as dean of the sophomore class and director of the Intercultural Center, both at Swarthmore College. He also held a number of positions at Montgomery College in Maryland, where he created the Achieving the Promise Academy to increase the retention and completion rates of African American and Latinx students.

Dr. Rivera’s research explores college completion for Latino and African American male students as well as the ways care, capital, and community cultural wealth influence student outcomes, and he has presented his research at conferences nationwide. He earned his Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction with a concentration in minority and urban education at the University of Maryland, College Park, his master’s degree in Elementary Education at CUNY’s College of Staten Island and his bachelor’s degree in History and Political Science at Manhattanville University. He lives in Muncie, Indiana with his husband and son.