Jesse Peters will be the new dean of the School of Arts & Sciences, a Fort Lewis College official announced Wednesday.
“I want to thank our search committee for doing a fabulous job,” said Barbara Morris, provost and vice president for academic affairs. “There were over 170 applicants, and, in the end, they unanimously recommended a candidate who has a wide breadth of experience, but whose research directly relates to our diverse student population as a Native American literature scholar.”
Peters will come to FLC from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, where he is a professor of English and American Indian studies. At UNCP, he has served as dean of the Esther G. Maynor Honors College, designed to attract top student scholars, and the director of the Pembroke Undergraduate Research and Creativity Center, which provides mentored research possibilities for undergraduate students. Peters is a two-time winner of the UNCP Award for Outstanding Teaching.
“I am excited to take on the role of dean of Arts & Sciences at Fort Lewis College,” Peters said, “because I see the school as a place where faculty and staff work together to create a unique and supportive community, one focused on the education of a growing and diverse student population.”
Peters earned a bachelor’ degree from Emory University in Atlanta and master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque.
“My background in Native American studies and the fact I am a first-generation college student drew me to apply for this position,” he said. “I believe I will fit in well at Fort Lewis and am eager to help strengthen the educational opportunities available to students.”
The FLC School of Arts & Sciences enrolls more than 2,500 students, including 25 majors and 35 minors in some of the college’s fastest growing programs, such as engineering and the geosciences.
“A dean provides the academic leadership for that school,” Morris said in February when the finalists were brought in for interviews. “They oversee the hiring process for faculty and staff, curriculum development and assessments, programming and accreditation review and grants and fundraising.”
Peters will replace Maureen Brandon, who is retiring. He, along with the new dean of the School of Business Administration, Steven Elias, who was hired earlier this month, will start at the college this summer.
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