The Vice Provost of Research

Alyson G. Wilson

Dr. Alyson G. Wilson serves as Vice Provost for Research at William & Mary, where she leads the university’s efforts to strengthen and expand its research enterprise. With extensive experience in research leadership, strategic planning and organizational development, Dr. Wilson brings a clear vision for fostering collaboration, enhancing infrastructure and increasing external support for faculty and student scholarship. Her work emphasizes creating an environment where innovative ideas can flourish, interdisciplinary partnerships can grow, and researchers are equipped with the tools and guidance needed to navigate the complexities of the research lifecycle.

Dr. Wilson earned her Ph.D. in Statistics from Duke University, building a research focus on reliability assessments for complex systems. She also holds an M.S. in Statistics from Carnegie Mellon University and a B.A. in Mathematical Sciences from Rice University. Prior to joining William & Mary in 2025, Dr. Wilson worked at North Carolina State University, serving as Interim Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation, holding senior leadership roles in the Office of Research and Innovation, and working as the Principal Investigator at the interdisciplinary Laboratory for Analytic Sciences between 2014 and 2024. She has also held positions at the Institute for Defense Analyses (Washington, D.C.), Iowa State University (Ames, IA), Los Alamos National Laboratory (Los Alamos, NM), and Cowboy Programming Resources, Inc. (El Paso, TX), which gave her experience in the application of statistical research in the defense, intelligence and national security fields.