McMillan Named Dean of College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

KUTZTOWN, Pa. – Dr. Laurie McMillan has been named dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Kutztown University, effective immediately. McMillan has served as associate dean of the college since 2020, and interim dean since January 2023.

“Dr. McMillan has been a collaborative colleague and a strong advocate for the faculty, staff and students of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences,” said Dr. Lorin Basden Arnold, provost and vice president for Academic Affairs. “Her experience and attention to interpersonal interaction brought her to the forefront in a very competitive national pool. I am so pleased to be able to continue to work with her in this capacity and welcome her insight and leadership.”

While serving as associate dean since 2020, McMillan was responsible for course scheduling, program assessment and a variety of projects and initiatives within the dean's office that assist and support students and faculty. She and her team of principal investigators were recently awarded a near-$300,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to identify underlying drivers of systemic gender inequities affecting STEM faculty and create a data-informed five-year plan to advance organizational change.

“I’m excited to work with colleagues in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences on long-term visioning as we continue to encourage curiosity, hands-on research and experiential learning among our students,” McMillan said. “We have wonderful partners across and beyond the university who bring great energy to our endeavors.”

Before coming to Kutztown University, McMillan spent a year as the assistant dean in Millersville University's College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. Before Millersville, she chaired the Department of English and Modern Language Studies at Pace University for more than three years. Earlier in her career, McMillan served as director of Writing and chair of the English department at Marywood University.

McMillan earned her bachelor's degree in psychology from Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass. She went on to earn two graduate degrees from Duquesne University: a Master of Arts in English literature and a Ph.D. in English literature.

The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences has 13 academic departments that offer programs based in the rich liberal arts heritage of higher education. In addition to our traditional major programs, we also offer contemporary majors in technology-rich areas, as well as interdisciplinary opportunities. Many students choose to broaden their education by completing an internship or by conducting research with faculty. The strength of all the programs of our college lies in a dedicated faculty who have a passion for teaching and mentoring that touches students' minds as well as their lives.

Departments within the college include Anthropology and Sociology, Biological Sciences, Computer Science and Information Technology, Criminal Justice, English, Geography, History, Mathematics, Modern Language Studies, Philosophy and Government, Physical Sciences, Psychology and Social Work.