John P. Gardner, Ph.D. Candidate

Associate Vice President for Student Success, Prairie View A&M University

John P. Gardner currently serves as the Associate Vice President for Student Success at Prairie View A&M University, a position he has held since January 2024. Before being promoted to associate vice president, he was the Assistant Vice President for Academic Engagement and Student Success from 2016 to 2023, the interim Dean of Students from September 2022 to October 2022, and the interim Athletic Director from October 2022 to August 2023. In his current role, John collaborates with academic leaders to foster a campus environment that promotes student success. He provides strategic leadership for First and Second-Year Experience Programs, Academic Success initiatives, Advising Services, Career Services, and Student Success Technologies.

Under John's leadership, Prairie View A&M University has made significant progress in student success indicators, including notable increases in first-year retention rates and both four- and six-year graduation rates.

John has represented Prairie View A&M University as a member of the National Association of System Heads (NASH) through the Texas A&M University System, participating in initiatives such as “Taking Student Success to Scale” and “Transfers Through the Equity Lens.” He has contributed to both system-level and national discussions aimed at developing strategies for identifying and monitoring student success indicators, particularly for at-risk and transfer students.

Before his current position, Gardner held various roles at PVAMU from 2011 to 2016, including Interim Assistant Director of University College, Director of Mathematics for the University Preparation (Math-UP) Summer Bridge Program, Coordinator of the Developmental Education Program, and Assessment Coordinator for PVAMU’s iREAD Quality Enhancement Plan.

John P. Gardner has secured over $1 million in grants and donations to support student success initiatives. He was a featured speaker at the International Centre for Innovation in Education Conference in July 2019 and has participated as a panelist at several national conferences focused on student success.

A native of Houston, Texas, Gardner began his professional career in 1997 after earning a Bachelor of Science (1992) and a Master of Science (1994) in Mathematics from PVAMU. He is a PhD candidate in Higher Education Administration at Prairie View A&M University.