DECATUR, Ill. – Effective August 1, 2023, has been restructured into five schools: The School of Writing, Languages and Cultures, the School of Social Sciences, the School of Biological & Environmental Studies, the School of Mathematics and Computational Sciences and the School of Chemistry & Physics.
“As with most organizational restructures, they are about internal organization,” Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences Nancy Curtin said. “The College of Arts & Sciences restructure is just that—to change how the college is internally organized. The restructure takes 10 departments and combines them into five schools.”
Dr. Julia Bates will be the Director of the School of Writing, Languages and Cultures, which will encompass English and Modern Language.
Dr. Brian Mullgardt will be the Director of the School of Social Sciences and will include History, Political Science, Philosophy (Pre-Law), Psychology, Sociology and Criminal Justice.
Dr. Jen Schroeder will be the Director of the School of Biological and Environmental Studies, including Biology and Environmental Studies.
Dr. Joe Stickles will serve as the Director of the School of Mathematics and Computational Sciences which will include Mathematics and Computational Sciences.
Dr. Tim Guasco will be the Director of the School of Chemistry & Physics, which includes Chemistry and Physics.
Additionally, the following faculty will serve as University Coordinators for the , which is the general education program: Dr. Matt Olsen (University Seminar), Dr. Michael Hollis-George (University Writing), Dr. Carmella Braniger (Humanities, Social Sciences and Global Studies), Dr. Mirela Tanta (International Cultures & Structures), Dr. Sarah Crist (Oral Communication), Jana Henry Funderburk (Creative Arts), Dr. Emily Olson (Quantitative Reasoning) and Dr. Jenna Smith (Natural Science).
The restructuring will provide for more shared recruiting and university service responsibilities across the schools and unburden faculty so they have fewer administrative duties.
“This restructuring frees up faculty to focus on teaching since we are moving from 10 department chairs to five directors for leadership,” Dean Curtin said. “The restructuring will help us be more efficient and effective internally with the goal that this results in tangible results to deliver on the promise of education for 鶹Լ students.”
