Our executive leaders are grounded in Adlerian social interest, and dedication to community partnerships as we support and prepare our students to drive meaningful change globally. Adler’s leadership continues to advance President Lisa Coleman’s vision to cultivate breakaway thinkers into action-driven leaders who transform complex health systems through impact-focused co-creation.
CHICAGO and VANCOUVER, October 8, 2026: Adler University has announced two executive leadership appointments. Brad O’Hara, PhD, has been named Provost and Senior Vice President, and Damon L. Williams, Jr. has been named Vice President of University Relations and Chief of Staff to the President. Together, they bring more than five decades of leadership across higher education in the United States and Canada, along with experience in healthcare and the corporate sector. They join Adler’s leadership team at a pivotal moment in its history.
“Brad and Damon each bring a record of student-focused leadership, collaboration and partnership and their positions are key in helping to strengthen all aspects of our institution” said Adler University President Lisa Coleman. “Brad brings the academic know-how and faculty collaboration to support and grow Adler’s programs and scholarly profile, and Damon brings the strategic and relational leadership to build resources and graduate more students who continue to share the Adler story with the world. I am proud to have Brad and Damon join me in these key leadership positions as we envision the next chapter of our institutional history together.”
Brad O’Hara: A Builder of Academic Pathways Across Two Countries
As Provost and Senior Vice President, O’Hara will lead Adler’s academic enterprise. Brad stepped officially into the role of Provost as of September 2, 2026 following his service as the Interim Provost role since November 2025. Brad has also continued for the time being to serve as Executive Dean of the Vancouver campus.
In partnership with the president, the provost serves as the chief academic officer and is focused on managing the entire academic ecosystem, ensuring student centered approaches are at the heart of educational quality, and driving the strategic vision for faculty engagement and development, research, and teaching that is intertwined with student success. Core responsibilities include academic leadership – ensuring the faculty focus is on students; the development and implementation of all academic programs, curricula, and degree requirements and faculty affairs; and overseeing the recruitment, hiring, evaluation, promotion, and tenure decisions for faculty. The provost’s primary focus is to ensure that Adler’s academic and related programs are student-centered and this includes working with other executives to increase pathway and partnership opportunities across the institution. New partnerships with Douglas College, which awards the largest number of baccalaureate degrees among British Columbia’s colleges, including several in psychology; and existing partnerships with Capilano University and Kwantlen Polytechnic University are just a few examples of these efforts.
“Adler’s mission has never been more urgent, and our faculty, staff and students are ready to meet it,” O’Hara said. “Our current and future partnerships are opening new doors for students, and our outreach to alumni is at an all-time high. By working closely with students, faculty and staff, we will build a stronger institution as we navigate and shape what comes next. I am honored to lead this exciting work.”
Previously, O’Hara was Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs – University Canada West, Provost and Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs – Langara College, Provost and Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs – University of Louisiana System, and in leadership roles at Southeastern Louisiana University. O’Hara is an accomplished scholar with 30 publications in refereed journals and 20 national and regional conference presentations, and he co-authored a four-year, $1.2 million Learn and Serve grant supporting service-learning across the University of Louisiana System. His honors include Southeastern Louisiana University’s President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching and the President’s Award for Excellence in Research. He holds a doctorate in marketing (Ph.D.) from Louisiana State University, and master’s and baccalaureate degrees from the University of Windsor.
“Brad has built his work at Adler on a commitment to students, and partnering with faculty to strengthen our academic programs and support student recruitment and retention,” Coleman said. “As I elevated the role to Provost, we looked for someone who could advance our goals to deliver on the promise of education for our students and investments of our alumni – Brad is exactly the type of academic leader Adler needs right now to uphold these goals. As we continue to put students at the center of every decision, Brad will play a key role in working with faculty and in advancing our strategic initiatives and embedding student-centered approaches across the academic portfolio.”
Damon L. Williams, Jr.: “The Access Architect” Returns to Chicago
Assuming the role of VP and COS officially on September 15, 2026, Williams brings more than 20 years of cross-sector leadership in higher education, healthcare, corporate, and nonprofit organizations. He returns to Chicago after working with University of Kentucky HealthCare, where he served as Vice President for Outreach.
In this newly reimagined role, Williams serves as a senior strategic partner to President Coleman. His portfolio brings together presidential initiatives, legal and compliance areas, institutional advancement, marketing and communications and comprehensive responsibility in assisting the President with institutional goals, mission and vision. He also serves as the liaison to the academic portfolio (led by the provost) and as the alternate secretary to the board of trustees alongside the chief of operations. Like the provost, Williams will focus his work on the university’s approach to graduate student success. Williams will work closely with the provost, academic programs, and the executive leadership team to align initiatives across the university with Adler’s long-term strategy.
“Adler was founded on the idea that our well-being is tied to the well-being of our communities,” said Williams. “That belief has guided my work at every institution I have served, and it is why I said yes to this role. I am honored to partner with President Coleman and with Adler’s students, faculty, staff, alumni and other leaders to extend the university’s global impact.”
Before joining Adler, Williams also served at the University of Kentucky as Associate Vice President and Chief of Staff. In his work with Northwestern University, he recruited the largest number of traditionally underrepresented students in the history of Northwestern’s Graduate School and launched a dialogue series featuring more than 100 national and international figures. At Emory University, he built the Emory Diversifying Graduate Education (EDGE) program and partnered with the United Negro College Fund to launch the Emory SOAR research program for students at HBCUs. At his alma mater, Xavier University of Louisiana, he led the Office of Graduate Placement and the Ronald E. McNair Program and grew the university’s graduate school placement rate by 50 percent. In 2024, Diverse: Issues In Higher Education featured Williams on its cover as “The Access Architect.” The Chicago Defender named him one of its Men of Excellence in 2020, and his leadership was recognized by Black Enterprise and Savoy Magazine. He has received Xavier University of Louisiana’s Spirit of Excellence Alumni of the Year Award and Northwestern’s Penny Warren Service Award.
“Damon is a builder and a convener,” said Coleman. “He has spent his career turning strategy into results for students and communities, and he understands how to bring people together, create and sustain networks and partnerships, and deliver on the value proposition of higher education. I am delighted to welcome him to Adler and back to Chicago.”
Williams holds a BS in Psychology from Xavier University of Louisiana, an MBA from Fontbonne University, and a master’s in marketing from Tulane University, and he is a doctoral candidate in Leadership and Innovation at New York University, where his research focuses on artificial intelligence and mental health. Williams is an alumnus of Harvard University’s Institute for Management and Leadership in Education.
About Adler University
Founded in Chicago in 1952, Adler University continues the pioneering work of Alfred Adler, the first community psychologist, and his principle of social interest, the belief that individual well-being is inseparable from the health of our communities. Today, Adler prepares students to be global leaders who improve health outcomes through applied research, community co-creation, and immersive education.
Adler serves more than 1,400 students in more than 25 accredited master’s and doctoral programs and since 2015 has continued to grow its online presence. In 2024, Dr. Lisa Coleman became Adler’s seventh president and the first woman and first Black president in the university’s history. Learn more at adler.edu.
Media contact
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