Dr. Laurie McMillan has been named dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at KU. McMillan has served as associate dean of CLAS since 2020 and interim dean since 2022.
“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.”
McMillan was responsible for course scheduling, program assessment and other initiatives within the dean’s office while serving as associate dean. She was also recently awarded a grant from the National Science Foundation to identify systemic gender inequities affecting STEM faculty.
“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 in the KU press release. “We have wonderful partners across and beyond the university who bring great energy to our endeavors.”
McMillian earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Brandeis University and went on to earn two graduate degrees from Duquesne University: a Master of Arts and a Ph.D. in English literature. She has also served as assistant dean in Millersville University’s College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, chaired the Department of English and Modern Language Studies at Pace University and served as director of Writing and chair of the English department at Marywood University.
The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences has 13 academic departments that offer programs based on the liberal arts heritage of higher education.