Andrew Gades is the provost at Alaska Pacific University. Dr. Gades brings more than a decade of faculty and academic leadership experience to the role. Throughout his career, he has focused on student-centered learning, mission-driven and data-informed leadership, and academic innovation. Thinking creatively about how to align student goals with curricular outcomes is a common thread across his work as a teacher, scholar, and leader.

Before joining APU, Dr. Gades was the Interim Dean of Faculty and Chief Academic Officer at the College of Idaho. Focused on the importance of place, he has led the development of new academic programs and general education reform that value student agency, honor institutional history and values, and meet workforce needs.

His academic background is in music theory, with degrees from Florida State University and the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. His research draws on interdisciplinary approaches to understanding music and multimedia. He has also published on music theory pedagogy and curriculum. His model for an undergraduate music theory sequence that reflects institutional identity has guided curricular discussions at other colleges and universities and has been adapted by several.

Outside of APU, Dr. Gades enjoys spending time with his husband Matt and their two rescue cats, reading, discovering how to garden in Alaska, and exploring the area.