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Linda Aldoory Named Dean of American University’s College of Arts and Sciences
4/20/22

By ARHU Staff 

Professor of Communication Linda Aldoory will be leaving her position as associate dean for faculty affairs and research and director of the Center for Humanities Research in the University of Maryland’s College of Arts and Humanities (ARHU) to become the dean of American University’s College of Arts and Sciences, the university’s largest school. Her appointment is effective July 1, 2022.

Aldoory joined the faculty of the Department of Communication at the University of Maryland in 1999 and has held a number of administrative roles since 2015. She previously served as associate dean for research and programming, diversity officer and equity administrator in ARHU, associate chair of the Department of Communication and founder and director of the Center for Health Risk and Communication, housed in the Department of Communication. She also served as endowed chair and director of the Herschel S. Horowitz Center for Health Literacy in the School of Public Health. 

Aldoory studies public relations, feminism and health communication, with much of her work focusing on the effects of media messages and campaigns on underserved health populations. She serves as vice president of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) and is president elect for AEJMC. She holds affiliate appointments in the School of Medicine at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, UMD’s School of Public Health and the Harriet Tubman Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. Her recent book, “The Future of Feminism in Public Relations and Strategic Communication,” co-authored with Elizabeth Toth, won the 2021 PRIDE Outstanding Book Award from the Public Relations Division of the National Communication Association.  

During her time in the ARHU Dean’s Office, Aldoory has strengthened the research mission of the college by broadening visibility and support for humanities research; led the college diversity committee and actively assessed the diversity strategic plan with an eye toward next steps; and spearheaded the college’s Campaign on Race, Equity and Justice, which has included a Committee on Race, Equity and Justice to advise the dean, a Dean’s Colloquium Series on Race, Equity and Justice, and enhanced curriculum and programming. She also played a key role in securing speakers for and organizing the Dean’s Lecture Series, which invites artists and public intellectuals to visit the college for timely dialogue. And she’s worked closely with the Office of Faculty Affairs to address a wide range of faculty concerns.

“Linda is an efficient and effective administrator whose skills and talents will be missed in ARHU but greatly valued, I’m sure, at American,” said ARHU Dean Bonnie Thornton Dill. “Her passionate and upbeat approach to finding solutions for challenging problems will serve her well in the new role and I wish her continued success.”

Effective July 1, 2022, Professor of Communication Trevor Parry-Giles, will step away from his current role as associate dean for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), to serve a two-year term as the associate dean for faculty affairs and research to provide continuity for the new ARHU dean. Parry-Giles has taught communication at the University of Maryland since 1999. In ARHU, Parry-Giles has served on the Graduate Fellowships Committee for six years and has chaired and served on numerous selection and award committees for the Graduate School. He has served on seven faculty search committees and the search committee for the dean of the School of Journalism in 2011–12. He was also chair of the Department of Communication’s Appointment, Promotion and Tenure (APT) committee and Professional Track Faculty Promotion committee, and served on the ARHU APT committee. He was recently named a 2022 community fellow with the Humane Metrics in the Humanities and Social Sciences initiative.

The Office of the Dean looks forward to announcing an interim appointment for DEI soon.

Mizzou Administrator, Professor of Music and Black Studies Named ARHU Dean
4/19/22

By Maryland Today Staff 

The University of Maryland has named Stephanie Shonekan dean of the College of Arts and Humanities (ARHU), effective July 1.

As dean, Shonekan will provide strong and visionary leadership for ARHU, supporting an environment of diversity and inclusive excellence in teaching and learning; promoting a culture of impactful research, scholarship and creative activities; and encouraging interdisciplinary collaboration and partnerships.

“I am excited by this opportunity to lead the effort to drive and support an environment of interdisciplinary curricular, pedagogical innovation and research for the faculty and students of the College of Arts and Humanities at the University of Maryland,” said Shonekan. “As a professor of music and Black studies, I am a constant champion for the humanities and the fine arts, and am energized to lead collaborative work to help all of us understand the critical importance of these areas, and their potential to enrich all disciplines.”

Shonekan joins UMD from the University of Missouri, where she serves as senior associate dean of the College of Arts and Science. In this role, her work focuses on guiding the college to meet the mission of a public institution, providing a well-rounded education to its students, promoting research productivity, and serving the college, campus and all the various fields of the College of Arts and Science. She leads and manages the college’s budget and administration, faculty affairs, hiring and facilities.

“Dr. Shonekan brings a wealth of experience advocating for the representation of arts and humanities, driving innovation in teaching and learning, and advancing work to create an inclusive culture,” says Senior Vice President and Provost Jennifer King Rice. “Her scholarship and leadership align with the vision outlined in our strategic plan, and I am thrilled by the knowledge and perspective she brings to the University of Maryland.”

As senior associate dean at the University of Missouri, she has led initiatives to develop guidelines regarding faculty workloads; review and revise the staff support structure throughout the college; and find ways to uplift and highlight the value of the college’s departments and colleagues in the humanities, arts and social sciences.

Prior to her current position, she served as associate dean for graduate studies and inclusive culture, where she created a faculty mentorship initiative focused on meeting the intricate needs of graduate students and led cross-departmental work to make the college and campus a more inclusive space.

Shonekan previously served for five years as a department chair, first at the University of Missouri and then at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and held several roles at Columbia College Chicago for eight years.

Shonekan’s work focuses on race, culture, identity and history. A prolific ethnomusicologist, she is the author of “Black Resistance in the Americas: Slavery and Its Aftermath, Black Lives Matter and Music,” and “Soul, Country and the USA: Race and Identity in American Music Culture.”  She is also co-founder of the national “Race and the American Story” project, dedicated to “cultivating conversation, fostering understanding, broadening knowledge, and building community among people of different backgrounds and walks of life in the U.S.”

Shonekan is the recipient of various awards, including the Commitment to Diversity Faculty award at the University of Massachusetts, and the Marian O'Fallon Oldham Distinguished Educator Award, the Excellence in Education Award and the Black Girls Rock Award, and was a Teaching Excellence finalist at the University of Missouri.

She holds a B.A. in English from the ​​University of Jos, Nigeria, an M.A. in English from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, and a Ph.D. in folklore and ethnomusicology from Indiana University.

Photo by Jackie Byas.

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