Meera Komarraju, chairwoman of the Department of Psychology, will become the College of Liberal Arts’ next dean on July 1 pending approval of the Board of Trustees, according to an SIU press release Monday. 

Psychology professor Jane Swanson has been serving as interim dean of the college since Kimberly Kempf-Leonard began as the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Louisiana in August. 

Interim Provost Susan Ford said Dr. Komarraju is a respected professional on campus and in her field in the release.

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“She is an exceptional faculty member known for both teaching and research, and she brings to her new role a commitment to the future of the college as well the university,” Ford said.

Komarraju, who co-chairs the chancellor search committee, joined the university as a lecturer in 1986. She holds two doctoral degrees, one in applied social psychology from the University of Cincinnati and the other in industrial-organizational psychology from Osmania University in India, according to the release. 

“Her research interests include cognitive, non-cognitive and sociocultural factors related to motivation and performance, teaching self-efficacy, and the influence of ethnicity and gender on perceptions of leadership effectiveness,” the press release says. “In addition, she has earned SIU’s university-wide Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award and has twice been its nominee for U.S. Professor of the Year.”

Komarraju said in the release she considers serving as the dean of the university’s largest college a privilege.

“I am excited about working with our amazing students, talented faculty, dedicated staff, and other stakeholders and am confident we can collectively work toward realizing CoLA’s full potential,” she said.