Heather Lench, Ph.D.

Dr. Heather C. Lench serves as Senior Associate Provost, advancing strategic administrative and employee engagement efforts that reinforce Texas A&M’s mission in teaching, scholarship and service. In this role, she leads initiatives to reduce administrative burden, streamline processes and strengthen the support systems that allow faculty and staff to focus on their core academic responsibilities. She also guides strategic planning for resource investments and works closely with the Division of Strategy and Business Services to implement efficient, effective practices across the university.

A professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dr. Lench’s research explores how emotions shape thinking, decision-making and expectations about the future. Her work has been supported by the National Science Foundation and other major funders, and she is a fellow of the Association for Psychological Science, the Society for Personality and Social Psychology and the American Psychological Association. She earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Florida State University, her master’s in experimental psychology from California State University, Fresno, and her doctorate in social psychology from the University of California, Irvine. Dr. Lench has held several leadership roles, including Department Head of Psychological and Brain Sciences from 2016-2022, Interim Department Head of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences in the College of Medicine in 2025 and Senior Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs from 2022-2025.