Bollard hits the ground running as new CLAS associate dean
By Katy Brown
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Kathleen Bollard, associate professor and chair of modern languages, has been appointed the new associate dean of curriculum and scheduling for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS). She succeeds John Lanning, who was appointed the director of undergraduate experiences in January. Bollard hasn’t lost time easing in to the job; she is already in full-swing and working hard to make effective and productive decisions for CLAS.
Bollard has been with the university for 10 years and has been chair of her department for almost three. Although she will continue as chair this semester, Tim Phillips has been designated the modern languages coordinator to supervise the day-to-day activities for the department.
As a scholar, Bollard has a strong track record. While she has begun her new role as associate dean, she plans to continue her research in early modern European literature and will continue to teach in her area of specialization—16th and 17th century Spanish literature. Her most recent research, including two articles in the past year, has been on ekphrasis, which is the literary representation of works of art. Bollard also has been a visiting faculty member at the University of California at Berkeley and is completing her final semester of the Executive MBA program.
Jim Smith, dean of CLAS, is pleased to have Bollard on the management team for CLAS. “Kathleen has shown great leadership in modern languages and has built a strong program. As associate dean, I anticipate her to bring leadership in developing strong curriculum and programmatic changes,” Smith said. “John Lanning has left big shoes to fill and I’m confident Kathleen Bollard will do so successfully.”
Bollard brings CLAS a wealth of university knowledge and academic leadership expertise. She would like to work closely with the Auraria Higher Education Center (AHEC) and the other campus institutions to find solutions for the current space and rooming issues. When asked what she is most looking forward to she explained, “working with the other schools and colleges to develop interdisciplinary programs to benefit our students.”
Having started many new initiatives in her home department, including a Master of Arts program in Spanish, Spanish for international business, and a strong internship program, Bollard has the experience and talent to bring the same kind of success to CLAS.