Dr. Terence Langan is the new dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at St. Thomas, Dr. Susan Huber, executive vice president and chief academic officer, has announced.
Langan has served as interim dean since the June departure of Dr. Marisa Kelly, and previously was associate dean for six years and taught in the Department of Economics since 1990. His appointment as dean was effective Jan. 2.
“Terry brings both leadership skills and stability to the College of Arts and Sciences,” Huber said. “As a faculty member and as associate dean, he focused especially on what Ernest Boyer calls the scholarship of teaching and application, and he has consistently employed this strength in the pursuit of academic excellence.
“The search committee concluded that his analysis of the current and potential strengths of the college and his understanding of the particular challenges of the moment will enable him to help the college flourish in the coming years. I couldn’t agree more with search committee’s conclusion.”
A native of Marshall, Minn., Langan graduated with a double major in mathematics and economics from St. John’s University in Collegeville. While working on his Ph.D. in economics at the University of Minnesota, he taught for two years at St. Thomas as an adjunct faculty member and joined the university full time in 1990.
He chaired the Economics Department for four and a half years and served as faculty secretary and on the Educational Policy Committee, Fringe Benefits Advisory Committee, Budget Advisory Committee and various ad hoc committees. During the 1996-1997 academic year, he taught at University College Cork in Ireland.
“I feel honored to have been chosen and I am excited to continue working with the 300 talented full-time faculty and staff in the College of Arts and Sciences,” Langan said. “There are so many great things happening in the college right now, all of which contribute to the excellent liberal arts education we offer our students. I look forward to providing continued support for those endeavors as well as identifying new opportunities and confronting new challenges.”
Langan and his wife, Loren, have four children and live in Mahtomedi.
Huber thanked Dr. Michael Jordan, chair of the search committee, and the following members for their service (all are College of Arts and Science faculty members unless otherwise noted): Dr. Carol Bruess, Dr. Catherine Cory, Dr. Jayna Ditty, Dr. Matthew George, Dr. Bruce Kramer (College of Applied Professional Studies dean), Dr. Tim Lewis, Andrew Leet (English Department staff), Brian McEnaney (CAS Board of Advisers), Dr. Sandra Menssen, Dr. Susan Smith-Cunnien and Dr. Paul Wojda.
