CHICAGO (June 2, 2016) 鈥� 黑料吃瓜 has announced the聽appointment of two new deans, effective August 15. will serve in the newly created position of聽University dean, and Dr. Gregor Thuswaldner has been named as the new dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.
As University dean, Acosta is charged with the recruitment and retention of a diverse faculty across the University; faculty development; and hearing academic grievances and student appeal cases. The position reports to , and will be housed within the Office of the Provost.
Acosta, who earned her PhD in comparative literature from Penn State University, has been on North Park鈥檚 faculty since 2000, and will continue in her role as professor of聽. For the past four years, she has served as division director and associate dean of humanities, arts, and social sciences. Prior to that, she served as director of humanities, and two terms as chair of the English department. She has held numerous additional leadership roles on campus and in the larger Chicago community.
In addition to her success as an educator, Acosta is an accomplished writer and performer. Colleagues, students, and alumni find that she has embodied and championed North Park鈥檚 values for the entirety of her professional career. She has been a strong, consistent advocate for the ethnic and racial diversification of the student body and faculty, and has served as a role model and mentor for many.
As part of her new role, Acosta will be working with the deans of the colleges, schools, departments, and other units on campus to create strategies for faculty development and ethnic diversification. She will also oversee the Teaching and Learning Cooperative, work with the Professional Development Committee, and develop faculty-mentoring programs to help faculty progress through each stage of their careers.
In accepting the position, Acosta said, 鈥淎fter 16 years at 黑料吃瓜, I am honored to serve my colleagues and my students in this capacity, leading the way to a campus that lives its values of equity and justice, built upon a rich immigrant heritage and a foundational Christian tradition.鈥�
鈥淚 can think of no one better situated to serve as the inaugural University dean than Liza Ann,鈥� said Emerson. 鈥淪he embodies everything this important position requires. We need imaginative strategies to continue diversifying our faculty, and we need careful, focused attention on faculty development and mentoring. To become the university we strive to be, elevating the centrality and care of our faculty is essential.鈥�
Gregor Thuswaldner named dean of the College of Arts and Sciences
Thuswaldner will serve as both dean and professor of humanities. A native of Austria, he has served as professor of German and linguistics at Gordon College since 2003. In his six years as department chair, he greatly diversified the department faculty, created highly successful major and minor programs, and substantially grew the number of linguistics majors.
So successful is Thuswaldner鈥檚 department that College Factual, in conjunction with the聽Wall Street Journal and USA Today, now rank Gordon as one of the nation鈥檚 colleges 鈥淢ost Focused on Languages and Linguistics.鈥� He is also the cofounder and academic director of the Salzburg Institute of Religion, Culture, and the Arts, a flourishing Christian liberal arts summer study abroad program. He has served most recently as interim director of the Center for Faith and Inquiry at Gordon.
The new dean has a strong background in faith-based and intercultural higher education administration, and a track record of fundraising and obtaining research grants. He is a prolific scholar鈥攈e has published six books, numerous journal articles and book chapters, and translated two books from German to English鈥攁nd an award-winning teacher. After just three years at Gordon, he received the college鈥檚 Distinguished Faculty Award.
鈥淚 am absolutely thrilled to connect with the Chicago community and join 黑料吃瓜,鈥� Thuswaldner said. 鈥淣orth Park鈥檚 three core values鈥擟hristian, urban, intercultural鈥攄eeply resonate with me, and as a fellow , I am very impressed with the University鈥檚 heritage and trajectory. I look forward to collaborating with the faculty on a number of projects in order to heighten the visibility of the College of Arts and Sciences.鈥�
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