Sarah Mustillo

As dean of the College of Arts and Letters at the University of Notre Dame, Sarah Mustillo is responsible for the overall vision and strategy of the College. She oversees both the academic core and the support structure of the College. In cooperation with faculty members and other administrators, the dean seeks to advance Arts and Letters while integrating the various aspects of Notre Dame’s triadic identity as a residential liberal arts college, a dynamic research university, and a Catholic institution of international standing.

The dean oversees the University’s programs in the arts, humanities, and social sciences; appoints and oversees associate deans and the chairpersons of 20 departments as well as selected directors and support staff; and supports and evaluates the teaching and research of faculty members.

Dean Mustillo’s key responsibilities include:

• overall vision and strategic planning
• tenure and promotion decisions
• high-level appointments to faculty positions, including external recruitment to full professorships and endowed chairs
• appointment and review of department chairpersons
• fundraising and external representation and advocacy
• major budgeting responsibilities and priorities
• leadership development within the College
• departmental reviews and evaluations

An expert in the social causes of childhood mental illness and statistical methods used in social science research, Mustillo joined the Notre Dame faculty in 2014, after serving seven years as a professor of sociology at Purdue University and six years on the faculty at Duke University School of Medicine. She was chair of Notre Dame’s Department of Sociology from 2016–2018.

Mustillo earned her master’s and doctoral degrees in sociology from Duke University, after graduating magna cum laude from Notre Dame in 1996 with a bachelor’s degree in sociology.

Her research interests include the social antecedents of mental illness, statistical methods, and social epidemiology. She recently completed a term as co-editor of the American Sociological Review, is the author of more than 75 peer-reviewed journal articles and a frequent speaker at domestic and international conferences on topics ranging from child mental health and wellness to advanced statistical methods.

Mustillo has served as principal investigator or co-principal investigator on several multimillion-dollar grant-funded studies and is presently co-investigator on a $2.4 million study of sibling socialization of alcohol and drug use from early through late adolescence, funded by the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

In the classroom, Mustillo has been honored with a number of awards for teaching and scholarship excellence, including a fellowship from the Center for Instructional Excellence at Purdue.