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About CLA > Office of the Dean

Office of the Dean

Irwin Weiser
Dean

Irwin "Bud" Weiser, Dean of the College of Liberal Arts, is the chief academic and administrative officer of the college. He works with the college’s department heads, program directors, faculty, and staff to facilitate and nurture academic excellence at all levels from undergraduate and graduate education to faculty research and creative endeavor. Weiser served as head of the Department of English from 2002 to 2009. He has been teaching and administering introductory writing programs, including developmental writing, at Purdue since 1981. His primary area of interest is composition pedagogy, and he has focused his graduate teaching on topics such as writing across the curriculum, writing assessment and composition research methods.

Dennis Bowling
Assistant Dean for Student Services

Dennis Bowling coordinates and administers a comprehensive, centralized advising program for over 4,000 undergraduate students. His responsibilities include creating and modifying programs to enhance the efficiency of the academic services in the College of Liberal Arts and reviewing and recommending changes to academic policy. He works closely with students by providing them with information concerning educational options, academic policies and procedures, while integrating University resources to meet the students’ special educational needs and aspirations. He represents the College of Liberal Arts at the University level in matters relating to undergraduate student advising and services. He also provides support to Liberal Arts Student Services, which includes undergraduate student Recruitment, Academic Advising, Diversity, Academic Success, and Career Services. Dennis is the academic advisor for undergraduate students majoring in Philosophy and Religious Studies.

Andrew Buckser
Associate Dean

Andrew Buckser, Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Education, works with faculty and graduate students in the College of Liberal Arts to identify, create, and foster structural resources for promoting research in the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences. He oversees the internal fellowship and grant award processes in the College of Liberal Arts, and collaborates with faculty and the Office of the Vice President for Research to facilitate the development of funding proposals for extramural grants. He coordinates four college faculty development centers in the arts, humanities, teaching innovation, and social sciences. He also works with the graduate programs in the College of Liberal Arts in nurturing standards of excellence in graduate education in the College. As Professor of Anthropology, Dr. Buckser’s own research explores the effects of modern cultural change on religious communities and on understandings of illness.

Barbara Dixon
Associate Dean

As associate dean for administration, Barbara Dixon serves as the scholarship coordinator for the college. Additionally, she is a liaison for communication about Liberal Arts, working with personnel from Purdue University News Service and the Office of Marketing and Media to ensure there are accurate and interesting stories and photos about the CLA faculty, alumni, and students. Barbara, along with Joan Marshall, provides information and assistance to the College of Liberal Arts Faculty Senate and the standing and ad hoc college and senate committees. She also serves as the dean’s representative on the Teacher Education Council, and acts as the coordinator for assessment in the College of Liberal Arts.

Joan Marshall
Senior Associate Dean

Joan Marshall serves as a resource to department heads, faculty, and staff in the college about academic and personnel policies and procedures. She is the college coordinator for affirmative action and the college liaison to the CLA Diversity Action Committee and other campus offices for diversity. Joan monitors the faculty hiring process and coordinates orientation activities for new faculty and department heads. As the contact person for harassment complaints in the college, she is the dean’s office liaison with the Sexual Harassment Advisors Network. Joan, along with Barbara Dixon, provides information and assistance to the College of Liberal Arts Faculty Senate and the standing and ad hoc college and senate committees. She also oversees the Administrative/Professional Staff Development Fund competition and the Administrative/Professional Staff Networking Program.

JoAnn Miller
Associate Dean

JoAnn Miller oversees the college’s interdisciplinary studies programs: American Studies, Asian American Studies, Asian Studies, Comparative Literature, Film & Video Studies, Global Studies, Italian Studies, Jewish Studies, Latin American and Latino Studies, Linguistics, Medieval and Renaissance Studies, Peace Studies, Philosophy and Literature, and Religious Studies. She administers periodic program reviews, provides budget oversight, and administers graduate fellowships for the interdisciplinary programs. She is also responsible for the Purdue Liberal Arts Engagement initiative. Engagement supports the Building Community Program, which brings scholars, students, and community leaders together to examine pressing social issues that are in need of greater understanding. Building Community invites Purdue faculty to submit proposals for new projects each year. She coordinates the external reviews of all departments and programs. As a faculty member in Sociology, she specializes in Sociology of Law and Social Problems.

Song No
Associate Dean
Song No serves as the coordinator of undergraduate education and international programs for the college. He oversees Liberal Arts Student Services, which includes undergraduate student Recruitment, Academic Advising (now including the implementation of Banner, the online registration system), Student Diversity Initiatives, and Career Services, with useful resources for students, parents, and faculty. He helps allocate teaching resources, monitoring enrollment, efficiency, and demand. He also coordinates International Programs and Study Abroad in the college, and chairs the grade appeals board. He has responsibility for undergraduate awards and faculty teaching award selection, and he chairs the college committee for emergency preparedness. Song is a faculty member in the School of Languages and Cultures (Spanish) and in Latin American and Latino Studies, specializing in Latin American colonial literature and culture.

Paula Swank
Director or Financial Affairs

Paula Swank is the director of financial affairs for Liberal Arts. The role of the business office is to serve as the liaison between the academic areas and the central offices – e.g., purchasing, payroll, accounting, personnel, sponsored program services, staff benefits, etc. In this role, we provide information and assistance to departments in the interpretation and execution of University, federal, state, and sponsoring-agency financial policies, regulations, and procedures. We provide account management, payroll, purchasing, property management, and other services; maintain various systems and procedures; and assure the appropriate financial and budgetary accountability for all fiscal activities of the college.

There are seven separate business offices throughout the College of Liberal Arts, which are staffed by the director of financial affairs, three departmental business managers, and six account clerks. There is also an Employment/Payroll Center managed by the director of financial affairs and staffed by an account assistant and two account clerks. The CLA Purchasing Center staffs two account clerks and is managed by one of the business managers. These individuals provide business services and financial administration for the Liberal Arts deans, department heads, faculty, and staff.

Brett Chambers
Director of Information Technology

Brett Chambers is the director of Information Technology. As director, he oversees the services provided, identifies resources, determines strategic directions, and develops and interprets policies. The director works closely with the deans, department heads, and individuals in other campus technology organizations to discuss issues that either impact or are affected by information technology. The College of Liberal Arts Office of Information Technology, or CLA IT, is one of Purdue's "distributed IT" groups. We are proud to collaborate with ITaP and other campus IT organizations. CLA IT staff provide support to faculty and staff in departments and units throughout the college.

The Office of Information Technology promotes and supports the use of information technology in all areas of the college—research, instruction, and administration—so that faculty, students, and staff can teach, learn, work, and produce more effectively. We help support the use of technology on your desktop, in labs, and elsewhere. We identify and support applications and systems for your needs and explore new technologies that will meet future needs. Specific services provided by this office include: network infrastructure administration and development; consultation for purchases; support of instructional computing; and administration of instructional computing labs. Liberal Arts faculty and staff may request CLA IT support services by sending an e-mail to ithelp@purdue.edu or by calling our service desk at 6-6333.

Lori Sparger
Director of Advancement

Lori Sparger is director of advancement for the College of Liberal Arts. The generous support of our alumni and friends is critical to providing top-notch faculty, facilities, scholarships, and programs to our undergraduate and graduate students, and enhances the Purdue experience.

The development team is responsible for raising funds from alumni, friends, and organizations in support of the college, its faculty, departments, and programs. The team focuses primarily on cultivating major gift prospects, and works with the central University Development Office on other development efforts, including direct mail appeals, telemarketing, and corporate and foundation relations.

We are also here to be our faculty's advocate, and try to help departments identify funding sources for specific needs and develop proposals for submission. In addition, we seek to identify alumni who are interested in supporting particular programs or want to learn more about department initiatives.

The college's development office is also responsible for alumni relations, hosting several events on campus, and participating in University-wide events around the country. The college’s alumni board is actively involved in these events as well as the Distinguished Alumni Awards and Outstanding Seniors Banquet.

Stacey Mickelbart
Editor, THiNK Magazine

Stacey Mickelbart is the editor of THiNK Magazine, the College of Liberal Arts publication featuring stories that explore contemporary issues through the work of CLA faculty, students, and alumni. The magazine is published three times a year: online in spring and winter, and in print during the fall. We love to hear your feedback , so hope you'll read and comment on recent stories from both the print and online editions at www.cla.purdue.edu/think.