College of Charleston Announces Academic Leadership Updates
Keonya Booker will serve as interim dean of the Graduate School and Jason Coy will serve as the interim dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences.
College of Charleston Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Suzanne Austin sent the following message to the campus community on Tuesday, April 24, 2024:
Dear Campus Community,
Below are two academic leadership updates.
First, as I announced earlier this semester, Dean Kameelah Martin is returning to the faculty in the next academic year. She has done a great job leading the Graduate School since 2021, shepherding the creation of several new graduate programs critical to our strategic vision, implementing an electronic application system and raising the visibility of our graduate offerings.
I am pleased to announce that Keonya Booker, associate dean of the Graduate School, has agreed to serve as interim dean starting July 1, 2024. Booker, who came to the College of Charleston in 2013, is an associate professor of teacher education. She earned her Ph.D. in educational psychology, measurement and evaluation from UNC – Chapel Hill. Her research and scholarship focus on school belongingness, mentoring and classroom community for students of color.
Assessing the structure of the Graduate School and graduate education at the College will be part of the charge to President Hsu’s ad hoc committee (to be formed this summer) in order for them to conduct a thorough review of academic structures (schools, departments and programs) starting in the fall.
Second, I announced earlier in the semester that Dean Gibbs Knotts is leaving to become the provost at Coastal Carolina University. He has done a terrific job leading the School of Humanities and Social Sciences since 2019, and we wish him the best at his new institution.
Stepping in to serve as interim dean of HSS is Jason Coy, chair of the Department of History. Jason has been a member of the College’s faculty since 2003 and earned his Ph.D. in history from the University of California, Los Angeles. His research interests include the cultural history of magic and witchcraft and the social history of banishment and migration in early modern Europe.
In the fall, I will launch a national search for the dean of HSS.
Please join me in congratulating interim deans Booker and Coy for stepping forward to serve our university.
Sincerely,
Suzanne
Suzanne Austin
Executive Vice President and Provost
Division of Academic Affairs
College of Charleston
