Four finalists have been named in the search for a dean for the College of Arts and Science (CAS) at Miami University. Open forums are scheduled for each candidate and will be held in Room 319 of Kreger Hall.

Renée Baernstein

Feb. 5, 4-5 p.m.
Feb. 6. 9-10 a.m.

Renée Baernstein joined Miami’s History department in 1993 and teaches world history and European history. Since 2015, she has served as associate dean of the College of Arts and Science, where she has held leadership positions in curriculum and academic program development, promotion and tenure of tenure-line faculty, buildings and facilities, and grants and contracts. Her archival research focuses on Renaissance Italy, particularly the roles of women and marriage in politics during the 16th and 17th centuries. She is a Fellow of the American Academy in Rome and an amateur beekeeper.

Melissa Gregory

Feb. 12, 4-5 p.m.
Feb. 13, 9-10 a.m.

Melissa Gregory is professor of English and interim dean of the College of Arts and Letters at the University of Toledo. Gregory is passionate about the fundamental importance of the liberal arts and sciences to four-year public institutions and brings to her candidacy a long history of advocacy for the arts, humanities, social sciences, and interdisciplinary programs. During her time in the Arts and Letters dean’s office, Gregory led multiple curricular initiatives that branded the college as a space of dynamic innovation, including a new minor in the health humanities supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities grant, a minor in Latinx studies, a major in Data Analytics, and a unique Associate of Arts in the Liberal Arts that is now embedded within every four-year degree program in the college. Gregory is committed to faculty advancement and has a robust track record of creating initiatives that support faculty success with tenure and promotion. External research funding has also achieved an all-time high under her term as interim dean.

Matthew Smith

Feb. 19, 4-5 p.m.
Feb. 20, 9-10 a.m.

Matthew Smith is dean of the College of Humanities and Behavioral Sciences (CHBS) and professor of Communication at Radford University in Virginia. CHBS is the largest college in the university including eight departments, a School of Communication, three interdisciplinary programs, and the Army ROTC program. Over the last six years, Smith has led the college in developing new minors such as African American Studies and Legal Studies, establishing the Social Media Analytics and Research Technology (SMART) Lab and the Center for Digital Archives and History, and introducing the Student Travel and Research Support (STARS) fund, which leverages donor support for students traveling to research conferences and other experiential learning opportunities. Prior to his tenure at Radford, Smith served as chair and professor of Communication at Wittenberg University.

David Hemmer

Feb. 26, 4-5 p.m.
Feb. 27, 9-10 a.m.

David Hemmer recently completed five years as dean of the College of Sciences and Arts and is currently professor of Mathematical Sciences at Michigan Technological University, the snowiest college campus in the United States by a large margin.. Prior to arriving at Michigan Tech, he served for six years as chair of the mathematics department at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo. His research, in the area of representation theory of finite groups (very abstract algebra), had been funded by federal grants for 17 consecutive years.