The College of Arts & Letters Office of the Dean has appointed several new leaders across its departments, centers, and institutes. Their terms begin July 1, 2025, unless otherwise noted.
CJ Jones, a professor of German studies, has been appointed to a five-year term as the Robert M. Conway Director of the Medieval Institute. Jones is an interdisciplinary scholar whose research focuses on liturgy and religious women in medieval Germany.
During Jones’ research leave in 2025-26, Jeff Wickes, an associate professor of theology, will serve as the institute’s interim director. Jones succeeds Thomas Burman, a professor of history, who served as the institute’s director since 2017.
Jason Ruiz, a professor of American studies, has been appointed to a three-year term as director of the Institute for Latino Studies. A scholar of race and popular culture, Latino studies, and gender and sexuality studies, he has served as chair of his department since 2020.
He succeeds Luis Fraga, the Rev. Donald P. McNeill, C.S.C., Professor of Transformative Latino Leadership and the Joseph and Elizabeth Robbie Professor of Political Science, who led ILS as director since 2017 and as co-director from 2015-17.
Dionne Irving Bremyer, an associate professor of English, has been appointed to a three-year term as director of the Initiative on Race and Resilience. A writer of fiction and nonfiction, including the short story collection The Islands, her work explores questions of personal, cultural, and national hybridity in a postcolonial world.
She succeeds Mark Sanders, the founding director of the initiative since 2021 and a professor of English and Africana studies.
In January, Kristin Valentino, a professor of psychology, was appointed the inaugural director of the Veldman Family Psychology Clinic. Valentino, whose research focuses on how adversity affects child development and how caregiving behaviors impact families, had led the Shaw Center for Children and Families since 2019.
Laura Miller-Graff, a professor of psychology and peace studies and a leading scholar examining the developmental and intergenerational effects of exposure to violence in childhood, was appointed to succeed Valentino as director of the Shaw Center for Children and Families.
Annie Gilbert Coleman, a professor of American studies, has been appointed to a three-year term as chair of the Department of American Studies. A scholar of the cultural and environmental history of outdoor sports and recreation, she has served as the founding director of the minor in sport, media, and culture since 2021. She succeeds Jason Ruiz.
Christopher Chowrimootoo has been appointed to a three-year term as chair of the Program of Liberal Studies. A scholar of the history, historiography and aesthetics of music, Chowrimootoo also has a concurrent appointment in the Department of Music.
He succeeds Tom Stapleford, an associate professor in PLS, who served one year as interim chair after previously chairing the program from 2016-22.
Joyelle McSweeney, a professor of English, has been appointed to a three-year term as chair of the Department of English. A playwright, novelist, translator, and critic, McSweeney has twice served as director of the Creative Writing Program.
She succeeds Laura Knoppers, the George N. Shuster Professor of English Literature, who served as chair since 2021.
Perin Gürel, associate professor of American studies, has been appointed to a three-year term as director of the Gender Studies Program. Her research explores the relationship between the United States and the world through a transnational feminist lens, with a special focus on U.S.-Middle East relations after World War I.
She succeeds Barbara Green, a professor of English, who led the program since 2021.
