Jacqueline Jones Royster has been named the new dean of the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts following a semester-long search and month-long finalist application process to fill the position. Royster will fill not only the position of dean of the college, but will also join the faculty as a professor in the school of Literature, Communication and Culture where she will bring her expertise in rhetorical studies, women’s studies and literacy. She is expected to arrive on campus over the summer and begin work by the start of the fall semester. The search for the new dean was led organizationally by the consulting firm of R. William Funk and Associates, the same firm used during the search for the current Institute President, and was chaired by Provost Gary Schuster.
“With a proven record of leadership and scholarship, Professor Jacqueline Royster brings a great wealth of academic and administrative experience to the Ivan Allen College,” Schuster said in the official announcement of the position. “As one known for fostering interdisciplinary collaborations, she will not only be a strong advocate for the College, but also work with faculty, students and staff to expand its role within Georgia Tech.”
Royster comes to Tech after working in various positions at The Ohio State University, where she recently served as the senior vice provost and executive dean of the school of Arts and Sciences. Royster’s new position at Tech is actually a return to Atlanta. She received her Bachelors degree from Spelman College, her Masters and PhD from the University of Michigan and held a previous academic position at Spelman.
Royster was on campus on Jan. 26 to give a presentation to members of the Tech community, specifically Ivan Allen College members. While there she covered her views on the political and social responsibilities of education, as well as her views as an educator.
“I believe that if we put good people, who take themselves and their work seriously, together in spaces that promote good work, excellence can happen on a regular basis and that the role of the institutions that surround is to keep structures, processes and protocols in balance as we learn how to get out of the way of good people so that synergy, collaboration and dynamism can happen,” Royster said at her Jan. presentation.