Passing the Torch to a New Era of College Leaders
The 2023-24 academic year ushered in a new chapter for the College.
In September 2023, Gabie Smith announced she would return to faculty in the Department of Psychology at the close of the academic year after nearly a decade as dean. Associate Deans Nancy Harris and Kirby Wahl returned to faculty in the departments of biology and performing arts, respectively. With Smith, they represented a combined 42 years of leadership experience in the College.
Hilton Kelly — then dean of the University of Wisconsin-Platteville’s College of Liberal Arts and Education, where he served two years in the role — was selected as the College’s new dean following a national search. Kelly is an award-winning interdisciplinary scholar with expertise in the sociology of education, critical race theory, the Jim Crow era, the careers of Black educators, and social memory studies. Among his accomplishments, he was a 2021-22 American Council on Education Higher Education Leadership Fellow and was director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies at Davidson College. Kelly earned his Ph.D. in Sociology and Master of Science in Labor Studies at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and his Bachelor of Arts in History at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
Senior Associate Dean and Associate Professor of Social Justice Angela Lewellyn remained in the dean’s office with new responsibilities around academic administration and operations.
Last spring, Professor of Exercise Science Caroline Ketcham and Professor of Italian Brandon Essary were selected as new associate deans. Both are celebrated teachers, mentors and scholars in their fields. In the Dean’s Office, Ketcham oversees science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics programs (STEAM), while Essary oversees humanities, social sciences and interdisciplinary programs (HSSIP).