Siena College announces the appointment of Lara Baker Whelan, Ph.D., as the new dean of the School of Liberal Arts.
Dr. Whelan is currently a tenured associate professor of English, rhetoric and writing at Berry College in Mount Berry, Ga. In addition to teaching, she is also director of Berry’s Honors Program and coordinator of its national and international scholarships and fellowships program.
Her appointment to the Siena post is effective June 2017.
Dr. Whelan’s primary responsibilities as dean will be to administer all programs in the School of Liberal Arts, which enrolls more than 1,000 students taught by 175 full-time and part-time faculty. She will also support the College’s strategic initiatives and help to maintain academic excellence in teaching, scholarly and creative activity, and community engagement within the College and broader community.
The School of Liberal Arts at Siena offers bachelor’s degrees in 13 majors and 19 minors, 13 secondary education certificates, and seven other certificate programs.
She will report to Margaret E. Madden, Ph.D., vice president for academic affairs.
“I am delighted that Dr. Lara Whelan has agreed to join the administration and faculty at Siena,” said Dr. Madden. “Her extensive career as a faculty member in English, as a department chair, and as an honors program director prepares her thoroughly to lead the School of Liberal Arts at Siena. Her intelligence and warmth impressed faculty and staff during her interviews. I am looking forward greatly to working with her as the School and College advance our strategic plan.”
She replaces James C. Harrison, Ph. D., professor of history, who has served as interim dean at Siena since January 2015. He was preceded by Janet Shideler, Ph.D., professor of modern language, who served as dean of liberal arts from 2012 to 2014.
Dr. Whelan joined the faculty at Berry, a small Christian liberal arts college in northwest Georgia, in 1999. She has taught courses in British modernism, Victorian literature, British romanticism, Irish literature, women’s literature and more. She served as chair of her department for five years.
“I am so honored to have been selected to serve as Siena's next dean of the School of Liberal Arts, and I eagerly anticipate joining the College's exemplary community of faculty, staff and students in supporting and promoting Siena's mission and values,” said Dr. Whelan.
She is the author of the book Class, Culture and Suburban Anxieties in the Victorian Era, which was published in 2009, in addition to numerous book chapters, articles and reviews.
She holds a B.A. in English from Dartmouth College, an M.A. from King’s College, University of London, and a Ph.D. from the University of Delaware.
Siena College is a private liberal arts college in the Catholic and Franciscan tradition that enrolls 3,000 students in more than 30 majors and 80+ minors and certificate programs.
