Dr. Erik T. Nelson

Dr. Erik Nelson is the Senior Associate Dean of Academic Affairs at Columbia University in the School of Professional Studies (SPS). Dr. Nelson is charged with establishing a unified vision for the Academic Affairs unit, providing curricular leadership to the school’s portfolio of academic offerings, including 6 academic divisions, 14 master’s degree programs and a growing suite of professional programs.

Focusing on developing best-in-class, academically rigorous face-to-face, hybrid, and online learning programs, he models and supports an entrepreneurial mindset throughout the organization, assisting colleagues to produce and deliver market-driven cross-disciplinary programming. Dr. Nelson also leads the effort to build a constant culture of assessment at the school, ensuring that all SPS programs attain academic excellence. Additional responsibilities include chairing the Academic Excellence Committee, developing academic policy, coordinating Middle States Accreditation reporting, establishing an outcomes-oriented educational research agenda, as well as overseeing institutional, state, and national regulatory matters. He is a member of the SPS Faculty Development Committee, serving as the ex-officio, secretary of the faculty of professional studies.

Dr. Nelson is also tasked with building coalitions within the University, raising the visibility of SPS Academic Offerings at Columbia, establishing productive working relationships across a wide variety of individuals and groups, and is a leading voice for the organization in both internal and external settings. Prior to this position, Dr. Nelson was the Associate Dean for Online Learning at Columbia University.