Beth Winkelstein, Northeastern’s provost and senior vice president for academic affairs, has left her role after less than a year, the university confirmed in an email to The Huntington News May 28. 

Winkelstein, a long-time leader at the University of Pennsylvania, stepped into the role in fall 2025. Winkelstein has not responded to requests for comment as of publication. It is unclear why she left her position. Executive Vice Provost Tom Sheahan, who previously served as interim provost during the last hiring process, will serve as interim for two years.

“Beth Winkelstein is no longer in the provost role. Executive Vice Provost Tom Sheahan has been appointed interim provost for a two-year period,” Northeastern Vice President for Communications Renata Nyul wrote in the May 28 email.

In her role, Winkelstein oversaw the university’s academic mission and research enterprise, leading its 10 colleges and schools and the execution of its mission across the university’s global campus network. She was the first woman to hold the position since the university formed the Office of the Provost in 1948.

Previously, Winkelstein served as Penn’s deputy provost and the Eduardo D. Glandt President’s Distinguished Professor of bioengineering and neurosurgery, where she received her undergraduate degree in bioengineering. She went on to complete a doctorate in the field from Duke University. She returned to Penn in 2002 after postdoctoral training at Dartmouth College.

“We are in a place here where we have always thought about how do we do this better,” Winkelstein said of Northeastern in a September 2025 interview with The News. “It’s in our DNA.”