UTSA names Sean Kelly new dean of Honors College

UTSA names Sean Kelly new dean of Honors College

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By Rebecca Luther
Director of Communications, Office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs

(April 20, 2016) -- Sean K. Kelly, interim dean of undergraduate studies at Florida Gulf Coast University, has been named dean of the UTSA Honors College. He will assume his new position July 1, 2016.

“The UTSA Honors College has a well-deserved reputation for excellence, and Dr. Kelly has a compelling and creative vision for taking the college to the next level in alignment with the university’s journey to Tier One. We are excited to welcome him to UTSA,” said John H. Frederick, provost and vice president for academic affairs.

Kelly served as director of the FGCU Honors Program from 2007 to 2014, before his appointment in 2015 to oversee undergraduate studies. As interim dean, he oversees the university’s programs in general education, undergraduate research, tutoring, undergraduate studies advising as well as the Honors Program, First-Year Experience, Center for Teaching and Learning, Writing Center, Athlete Learning Center and Quality Enhancement Plan, among other units. He collaborates with college deans on university-wide curriculum and programming and with the University Foundation on fundraising initiatives.

Before joining the FGCU faculty in 2004, he served as assistant professor of philosophy and English at West Texas A&M University.

“I am very excited to come back to Texas and work with UTSA students, faculty and staff to transform the UTSA Honors College into a destination program for students both in and out of state,” Kelly said.

Kelly said he has followed UTSA’s growth and been impressed with the university’s commitment to Honors education, the Honors College’s close collaboration with other academic colleges at UTSA, and the college’s “exceptionally well-engaged students.” UTSA’s development into premier research university also played a large part in attracting him to the dean position.

“Students are getting involved in research even in high school, so the expectation of top students is to come to college, move into a lab and start working with a top researcher,” said Kelly. “So to have a premier honors college, you really need a research intensive university.”

At FGCU, Kelly led the development of the Honors Program into an experience-based program, with requirements to participate in research, study abroad or service learning. At UTSA, he plans to continue building upon the research and study abroad opportunities available to Honors students, and he wants to considerably expand the service learning aspects. Not all Honors students will pursue graduate studies or become researchers, he said, so service learning is important to add varied experience to their resumés.

“You want students to have the skills of researchers. You want them to see that they can discover new knowledge and apply new knowledge,” he said. “But you also want them to have the preparation to walk out and be more literate citizens, more engaged citizens and more active citizens.”

Kelly earned both his master’s degree in philosophy and Ph.D. in comparative literature from Binghamton University (SUNY). He earned his bachelor’s degree in philosophy and English from the State University of New York at Geneseo.

During the search for a new dean, Ann Eisenberg served as the interim dean.

“I want to personally thank Ann Eisenberg for serving in that interim role this year as we conducted this search,” said Frederick. “She did an outstanding job of assuming the additional administrative duties while maintaining the personal level of service and commitment to Honors students for which she is so well known and regarded.”

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