Virginia Tech has announced the formation of a search committee to select the next dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences.

Rosemary Blieszner has served as dean since March 2017 and, as originally planned, will be returning as faculty by summer 2019. During her tenure as dean, Blieszner has served with distinction and has earned the appreciation of faculty and administrators for stabilizing and moving the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences forward.

Alan Grant, dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, will chair the search committee.  Search committee members are as follows:

Catalina Andrango Walker, associate professor, Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures

Julia Beamish, professor and head, Apparel, Housing, and Resource Management

LaTawnya Burleson, development associate, College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences

Sheila Carter-Tod, associate professor, English

Jason Crafton, associate professor, School of Performing Arts

Tom Gardner, alumni distinguished professor, English

William Glenn, associate professor, School of Education

James Hawdon, professor, Sociology

Ashley Heflin, assistant professor, Science, Technology, and Society

James Ivory, professor, Communication

Benjamin Jantzen, associate professor, Philosophy

Sylvester Johnson, professor, Religion and Culture

Melanie Kiechle, associate professor, History

Paul Knox, university distinguished professor and dean, Honors College

Tina Savla, professor, Human Development and Family Science

Courtney Thomas, associate director of undergraduate studies, Political Science

The College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences combines the wide-ranging intellectual exploration of the liberal arts with the technological advantages of a leading university and the civic engagement of a land-grant institution. Recognizing that technology alone is never a solution and that innovation is fundamentally a human achievement, the college brings the perspectives of the arts, humanities, and social sciences to achieve meaningful solutions to complex human problems.

Virginia Tech has engaged Isaacson, Miller, a national executive search firm, to assist with this search. They will hold an open forum/town hall on Sept. 14 from 10:30 a.m. to noon in the Library Multipurpose Room, to gather input from the campus. This forum/town hall is open to the entire campus community.

The search committee welcomes nominations for the position through Isaacson, Miller’s dedicated search website. For confidential inquiries, please contact Greg Esposito, partner at Isaacson, Miller, at 617-262-6500.

The position description and application process will be announced later this fall and will be available through the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost website.

Written by Rachel Gabriele