Announced today, Dr. Charlotte G. Borst has been appointed Whittier College's next Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty, effective July 1, 2009. Borst will succeed the current dean, Susan Gotsch, who has been at Whittier for seven years.
"Charlotte is bringing to Whittier a wonderful breadth of interests and experience, devotion to our interdisciplinary tradition, and dedication to advancing students' aspirations and achievement," said President Sharon Herzberger. "We are fortunate to have such a strong colleague joining our leadership team. I know her particular talents and expertise will be instrumental in the strategic advancement of our academic programs."
Borst comes to Whittier from Rhodes College, a national liberal arts institution in Memphis, Tennessee, where she has served as provost and vice president for academic affairs. A seasoned academic leader, Borst brings experience in strategic planning, as well as faculty and program development.
Before that, she served as dean of arts and sciences at Union College in New York, chair of the history department at St. Louis University in Missouri, and executive director of historical collections at the University of Alabama, Birmingham. Borst is a nationally-respected historian of science and medicine, whose research focuses on issues of gender and race.
Borst replaces Dr. Susan Gotsch, who has served as dean and vice president of academic affairs since 2002. Since her arrival at Whittier, Gotsch has led initiatives and has been involved in projects that include the development of a new Liberal Education Program with clear learning outcomes, successful grant writing to support technology in the classroom, several Title V projects (for Hispanic-Serving Institutions), science programs and science space, and global learning initiatives. Her most significant accomplishment has been working with faculty to achieve a more diverse faculty and curriculum. After taking a semester-long sabbatical, Gotsch will join Whittier's sociology department as a full-time professor.
