UMass Dartmouth announced today the appointment of Dr. Jeannette Riley as its new Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, the largest of eight schools and colleges at the university
UMass Dartmouth announced today the appointment of Dr. Jeannette Riley as its new Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, the largest of eight schools and colleges at the university. Over the past two years, Dr. Riley has served as Interim Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, supporting the college's faculty, students and staff as they excel in the rapidly changing higher education environment.
"We are very pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Riley as the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, ensuring continued success for our faculty, students and staff," said Provost Mohammad Karim. "Over the past two years, she has demonstrated excellent leadership as Interim Dean, assuring the quality and effectiveness of all educational programs and expanding the research profile, positioning the college to move forward rapidly through the implementation of its Strategic Plan."
"I look forward to continued success at UMass Dartmouth supporting the College's renowned faculty, tremendous students, and hardworking staff," said Dr. Riley. "A degree in the arts and sciences at UMass Dartmouth exposes students to new ideas, various cultures, and creative encounters. Our faculty are committed to the academic pillars of theoretical knowledge and practical learning through scholarship, research, and experiential learning opportunities for our students."
Formerly at Kent State University, Dr. Riley arrived at UMass Dartmouth in 2002 and was tenured at UMass Dartmouth in 2005 and promoted to full professor in 2010. Dr. Riley has served as Director of the Women's Studies Program (2003-2009), successfully growing the program from a minor to the robust major, Women and Gender Studies. She has also served as as Director of the Liberal Arts Program (2006-2010). As chairperson of the Department of English (2010-2012), she provided academic and administrative leadership for the largest department in the College of Arts and Sciences.
Dr. Riley received her Ph.D. in English from the University of New Mexico, an M.A. in English from the University of New Hampshire and her B.A. English from Colby College. Dr. Riley's primary research focuses on the writings of American poet Adrienne Rich with recent publications analyzing Rich's engagement with politics and democracy, a new direction in Rich studies. Other publications focus on the scholarship of teaching, with several articles developed from Riley's grant-funded work on blended and online teaching and learning. Dr. Riley is currently completing a book length project on Rich.
As the Faculty Instructional Technologies Coordinator and Academic Director of Online Education, Dr. Riley has supported faculty in the effective use technology in the classroom. In this capacity, she developed online faculty training courses, researched and designed learning modules on online assessment practices and effective practices for online teaching and researched and developed electronic portfolio processes for departments. Additionally, she has received more than $500,000 in grant resources to support projects related to teaching with technology.
The College of Arts and Sciences offers 21 majors and enrolls nearly half of all undergraduate students. The College's five graduate programs are highly competitive because of the individually tailored academic experiences. The School of Education is housed within the college and offers graduate degrees and teacher licensure programs. In addition, CAS offers online undergraduate and graduate degrees.