Theresa Lee, dean of the UT College of Arts and Sciences, has been elected to serve on the executive board for the Council of Colleges of Arts and Sciences.
The council, which was founded in 1965, is the national association of colleges of arts and sciences. Its purpose is to provide professional development programming to its member deans and sustain the arts and sciences as a leading influence in American higher education.
Lee became a member in 2012 when she was appointed dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. She values the training and specialty seminars offered at the annual meetings, as well as members’ efforts to gather useful data about a variety of aspects on arts and sciences in higher education and ongoing dialogue about being a dean.
“One of the things I like about this organization is it helps us in how we do our job,” Lee said. “We discuss issues deans face, such as how do we create a diverse environment for everyone; provide support and guidance for new deans; and think about the larger picture of why it is important to have liberal arts in higher education.”
At the last meeting, Lee facilitated a specialty seminar about ways to start a program with little to no money for support and how to end a program when it either has no funding or no longer serves a purpose in the college.
“The organization has a range of school sizes that represent the breadth of the country,” Lee said. “I look forward to working with the executive board not only to move the organization forward and recruit more member deans, but also work on diversity and inclusion issues on college campuses in the current political climate.”