Melissa Gresalfi will step down from her roles as dean of residential colleges and residential education and dean of The Martha Rivers Ingram Commons following the end of the 2025-2026 academic year, as announced in a Vanderbilt press release on Jan. 12. Gresalfi, whose final day as dean is Jun. 30, 2026, has served as dean of Commons since 2019 and has officially overseen upper-division residential colleges and education since 2023.
Gresalfi joined the Vanderbilt community in 2012 as an associate professor in math education and was promoted to a full professor role in 2019.
In her first year as dean, Gresalfi navigated the residential college experience during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, overseeing decisions such as rotating first-year residency between Commons and Main campus between semesters. In discussing her experience transitioning into a dean role, she attributed her biggest challenge to preparing for students’ return to campus.
“Vanderbilt decided to welcome students back [in the fall semester of 2020], and that created a lot of pressure on residential colleges to think about how we build community if we’re not allowed to gather,” Gresalfi said. “The rules kept changing as we learned more about [COVID-19] and keeping people safe, so that was a completely exhausting year.”
In an interview with The Hustler, Gresalfi identified her own proudest accomplishments as dean, which included the current reputation of residential colleges and the efficiency of the faculty head team.
“The thing that I am most proud of about residential colleges is how highly students talk about their experience in residential colleges and, relatedly, the waitlist I have for faculty who want to be a part of residential colleges,” Gresalfi said. “And a lot of that has nothing to do with me. A lot of it has to do with how truly incredible it is to get to be in community together. It is a huge benefit to students to get to know faculty on a different level.”
Renã A.S. Robinson — faculty head of Murray House, Dorothy J. Wingfield Phillips chair and professor of chemistry — stressed her appreciation and admiration for Gresalfi during her time as a faculty head. When first assuming the role, Robinson detailed the significant support Gresalfi provided in preparing her for the new role.
“[Gresalfi and her staff] are very good about workshops, trainings, presentations and all the things we needed to be equipped [as a faculty head],” Robinson said. “She was really good about doing that, but also was personally available, allowing us to reach out to her if anything came up once we got initiated into the role.”
Robinson commended Gresalfi’s capabilities as a leader, acknowledging her ability to balance her responsibilities as a dean, researcher and professor. She described Gresalfi as effective in acting on behalf of the student body and receptive to feedback and opinions, specifically highlighting her hosting of social events with students.
“In spaces where [Gresalfi] is hosting events, you can see how her brain works really quickly to respond to whatever is being brought on the table,” Robinson said. “Students can come with anything you can think of, to ask or just in conversation, and she’s very good about really listening and hearing what the needs are and [she is] a really awesome connector to resources.”
Sophomore Megan Lathrop connected with Gresalfi through Dean’s Dinners that she regularly hosts at her personal residence. Lathrop, who attended several Dean’s Dinners during her first year at Vanderbilt, appreciated both the opportunity to connect with Gresalfi and learn from her and the guest speakers at the dinners.
“[Gresalfi] seemed very bright, very bubbly, not the type of person to shy down from anything,” Lathrop said. “She’s definitely very in touch with her students and wants to be involved in their lives and wants to know how they’re doing.”
While reflecting on the Dean’s Dinners, Lathrop characterized Gresalfi as receptive and genuine in hearing students’ opinions, “[Gresalfi] is a very kind woman, and I’m going to miss her a lot,” Lathrop said.
Robinson said she believes Gresalfi’s legacy leaves behind an intentionality in being caring and attentive to the needs of residents on campus and her successor will greatly benefit from the effort she put into her role as a dean.
“I’m really appreciative of Dean Gresalfi’s leadership. I’m really grateful for her supporting me personally as a faculty head,” Robinson said. “I think all of the faculty heads also appreciate her as well, and she will be greatly missed in this capacity.”
Gresalfi will remain at Vanderbilt as a professor after her time as dean concludes, and her focus will shift to her personal research around integrating playful learning in mathematics environments. She also expressed excitement about having time to finish academic papers that she previously backlogged, eventually submitting her work to academic journals.
