Saint Martin's appoints new arts and sciences dean
June 8, 2010
Lacey, Washington — Saint Martin’s University
announced today that Eric Apfelstadt, Ph.D. will be the new dean of the
College of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Apfelstadt has over twenty years of
experience in Catholic higher education, including dean positions at
Santa Clara University and Loyola University Chicago. He currently
serves as vice president of The Institute for Greater Roman Education, a
private company that provides consulting, custom design, and management
services for study abroad programs in Italy. Dr. Apfelstadt will be one
of two new deans joining the University; earlier this week, Saint
Martin’s also announced Richard Beer, Ph.D. as the new dean of the
School of Business.
“Our national search drew a great number of
impressive applicants for the position, and we are extremely pleased and
honored that Dr. Apfelstadt has accepted our invitation to take a
leadership role in this pivotal position,” says Saint Martin’s Vice
President for Academic Affairs Joseph Bessie, Ph.D. The University’s new
College of Arts and Sciences combines the divisions of Humanities,
Science and Mathematics, and Social Sciences into a single academic
unit. Adds Bessie, “The new College will take charge of creating an even
more robust General Education core for Saint Martin’s, and will be the
University’s bright beacon for high quality liberal arts education.”
At Santa Clara University, Dr. Apfelstadt served as
department chair, head of college advising, director of university
honors, and associate dean of arts and sciences. As associate dean, he
was responsible for developing academic programs; hiring and developing
faculty; and establishing academic policy. He assisted the chairs and
directors of the College’s numerous departments and programs with
curriculum revision, program assessments, and strategic planning. After
Santa Clara, he served as dean and director of Loyola University’s large
campus in Rome, Italy, which included over 200 undergraduate students
per semester and a sizable international faculty. As the chief academic
and administrative officer of the Rome Center, he improved enrollment by
twenty percent, initiated a thriving internship program and other
service-learning opportunities started a successful summer program for
undergraduates and supported visiting professional programs in business,
education, law and nursing. In addition, he collaborated with Loyola’s
advancement office and worked closely with a large alumni base and other
interested benefactors to build support for annual giving, new
scholarships and special programs.
Dr. Apfelstadt holds an A.B. in interdisciplinary
studies from Indiana State University, and an M.F.A. and a Ph.D. in art
history from Princeton University. He met his wife, Rebecca Edwards, at
Princeton, where she took her M.F.A. and Ph.D. in music history.
Saint Martin’s University is an independent
four-year, Catholic, coeducational university located on a 380-acre
wooded campus in Lacey, Washington. Established in 1895 by the Catholic
Order of Saint Benedict, the University is one of 18 Benedictine
colleges and universities in the United States and Canada, and the only
one west of the Rocky Mountains. Saint Martin’s University prepares
students for successful lives through its 21 majors and six graduate
programs spanning the liberal arts, business, education and engineering.
Saint Martin’s welcomes 1,250 students from many ethnic and religious
backgrounds to its main campus, and 650 more to its extension campuses
located at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Everett College, Centralia College,
and Tacoma Community College.
Genevieve Canceko Chan
Director of communications & marketing
Saint Martin’s University
360-438-4332
gchan@stmartin.edu
www.stmartin.edu