Lisa A. Freeman named dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Dear faculty, staff and students,

I am pleased to announce that following a national search, Lisa A. Freeman has been named dean of the University of Illinois Chicago College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, effective July 1, pending approval by the University of Illinois System Board of Trustees.

Professor Freeman received her PhD and Master of Arts in English from the University of Pennsylvania. A member of the LAS faculty since 1994, Professor Freeman served as interim dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences for the past academic year, prior to which she was head of the UIC Department of English for six years.

Professor Freeman served as acting associate dean in 2003, associate head of the English department from 2012 to 2015, and participated as a fellow in the 2021-22 cohort of the Presidential Executive Leadership Program. With a dual specialization in 18th-century studies and theater and performance studies, she is also an award-winning scholar and teacher and currently serves on the executive board of the American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies. She is a longtime Newberry Library Scholar-in-Residence and is the founder and co-organizer of their Eighteenth-Century Seminar.  In 2008, she received the Silver Circle Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Professor Freeman will continue to leverage all of these accomplishments, as well as her success as interim dean over the last year, in service of the college and its community in the coming years. I have the utmost confidence that she will serve as a guiding light that will enable our largest undergraduate college to provide a top-notch and research-rich education that equips students to participate as active citizens in our global community.

I would like to thank the search committee, chaired by Kathryn Chval, PhD, dean of the College of Education, as well as the search firm WittKieffer for their tireless work throughout the entire search process.

Please join me in congratulating Professor Freeman and welcoming her as the new dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Sincerely,

Karen J. Colley

Acting Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs

For more information, please contact:
Tyler Nielsen
pniels2@uic.edu