Gina Florio, Ph.D.

Gina M. Florio, Ph.D., currently serves as Interim Dean of St. John’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. She is also an Associate Professor, with joint appointment in the departments of Chemistry and Physics. 

Dr. Florio joined the faculty of St. John’s College in 2005 as a Clare Boothe Luce Assistant Professor of Chemistry and has since proven herself to be an effective teacher, scholar, and mentor—as well as a dedicated member of the University community. She is actively engaged in advancing the College and University mission of academic excellence through teaching, scholarship, and service. Dr. Florio is a proven leader, dedicated to encouraging student and faculty success through excellence in undergraduate and graduate education and scholarship. 

Dr. Florio advances antiracist efforts within the community and works toward creating an equitable and inclusive campus environment—which she sees as integral to the University mission. As Interim Dean of St. John’s College, she draws upon her six years of experience as a key leader of University-wide strategic action planning and institutional effectiveness efforts, as well as her 15 years as a student-centered teacher and research-active faculty member at St. John’s.

Since 2014, Dr. Florio has been a member of President Gempesaw’s leadership team, serving as co-Chairperson of the Strategic Priorities Working Group, Chairperson of the Strategic Priorities Review Team, and as a member of the President’s Advisory Council. Through these initiatives, she has overseen the development and recent revision of the University-wide Strategic Priorities Action Plan, as well as the assessment of collective progress of action under the plan. 

A key aspect of her leadership of these initiatives has been her ability to foster trust, effective collaboration, and consensus by listening to and working with people from across all sectors of the University. Dr. Florio also assisted in course continuity efforts during the Spring 2020 COVID-19 disruption, and is a member of the President’s Return to Campus Task Force.

As a scholar and mentor, Dr. Florio demonstrates leadership in the implementation of data-driven and equity-minded best practices for student and faculty success. She serves as a member of the steering committee of the Academic Center for Equity and Inclusion and is a co-principal investigator on a National Science Foundation Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) award with fellow members of the St. John’s College faculty. 

Dr. Florio’s research in the field of molecular electronics focuses on understanding charge transport processes and structure-function relationships in single molecule junctions. Her scholarship in the science of teaching and learning focuses on course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) and their efficacy, broadening participation in STEM, improving student STEM identity, and creating significant learning experiences. She is a dedicated mentor who has supervised the research of more than 60 undergraduate, graduate, and high school students during her time at St. John’s.  

Dr. Florio completed her A.B. in Chemistry at Vassar College, Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry at Purdue University, and a postdoctoral research fellowship in the National Science Foundation Center for Functional Nanomaterials at Columbia University. She has also participated in prestigious leadership development programs, including the HERS Summer Institute, the American Association of Colleges & Universities PKAL Summer Leadership Institute for STEM faculty, and the Vincentian Mission Institute at St. John’s.