Aug 19, 2021
Dr. Megan Walsh, professor of English at St. Bonaventure University, has been named acting dean of the School of Arts & Sciences.

A 10-year member of the faculty at St. Bonaventure, Walsh has, since January 2020, directed the Honors Program, which serves more than 150 undergraduate students at the university. She is also director of St. Bonaventure’s new B.A. program in literary publishing and editing and is former chair of the Department of English.

Walsh assumes the post of acting dean after Dr. David Hilmey, Arts & Sciences dean since 2016, was named acting provost and vice president for Academic Affairs, a post held by Dr. Joseph Zimmer before Zimmer was named acting university president. A search for a new university president is underway following the passing of former President Dr. Dennis DePerro in March.

“We are excited for Dr. Walsh to lead the School of Arts & Sciences this upcoming year. Her background as an outstanding faculty member, as well as her strong administrative and strategic planning experience, will be a benefit to the school,” said Hilmey. “I’m looking forward to working with Dr. Walsh as we continue moving Arts & Sciences and our academics forward.”

“I am beyond honored to serve our students and faculty as the acting dean of the School of Arts and Sciences. A&S includes a range of distinctive programs, including the addition of several new majors and minors, and I am excited to maintain our momentum,” said Walsh.

Walsh serves on the university’s Middle States Accreditation Committee (co-chair), Middle State Accreditation Steering Committee, Search Committee for the University President, Faculty Senate Compensation Committee and the University Planning Commission.

She is the author of “The Portrait and the Book: Illustration and Literary Culture in Early America” (University of Iowa Press) and co-editor of Frank J. Webb’s “The Garies and Their Friends” (Broadview). The recipient of many research fellowships and grants, Walsh was most recently a 2019-2020 NEH-AAS fellow at the American Antiquarian Society. She has also published numerous peer-reviewed articles and reviews and given dozens of professional talks on 18^th century print culture and early American literature.

Walsh joined the faculty at St. Bonaventure as an assistant professor of English in 2011. She was promoted to associate professor in 2016, followed by her promotion to full professor in 2018. Prior to her appointment at St. Bonaventure she taught at Temple University and The Ohio State University-Lima.

Walsh holds a Ph.D. and M.A. in English from Temple University. She earned her B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, with majors in English and history.

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About the University: The nation’s first Franciscan university, St. Bonaventure University is a community committed to transforming the lives of our students inside and outside the classroom, inspiring in them a lifelong commitment to service and citizenship. In 2020, St. Bonaventure was named the #2 regional university value in New York and #3 in the North by U.S. News and World Report.