Dean's Office

Meet the Deans

Interim DEAN MAGALI CORNIER MICHAEL, PH.D.

College Interim Dean, Tampa campus

Dean Magali Michael

Interim Dean Magali Michael, Ph.D.

Dr. Magali Cornier Michael has been serving as Interim Dean of the USF College of Arts and Sciences and Professor of English since June 1, 2022. Prior to that appointment, she served as CAS Dean for two years and then Campus Dean for two years on the St. Petersburg campus since July 1, 2018. Throughout her time at USF, she has been an active member of the multi-campus CAS senior leadership team, which has worked with faculty, advisors, and staff to make significant strides forward in the area of student and faculty success. Dr. Michael earned a BA in English from the University of Georgia and an MA and PhD in English from Emory University. Prior to joining USF, she was as Professor of English and Associate Dean of the McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She has published three single-authored books: Narrative Innovation in 9/11 Fiction, New Visions of Community in Contemporary American Fiction: Tan, Kingsolver, Castillo, Morrison, and Feminism and the Postmodern Impulse: Post-World War II Fiction. Her most recent book publication is an edited collection of essays titled Twenty-First-Century British Fiction and the City, for which she also wrote the introduction and one of the chapters. In addition, she has published articles and book chapters on the work of Diana Abu-Jaber, Margaret Atwood, Angela Carter, Don DeLillo, Jonathan Safran Foer, John Fowles, Doris Lessing, Ian McEwan, Toni Morrison, Grace Nichols, D.M. Thomas, and Virginia Woolf. On the teaching front, she has taught a large number of courses at all levels (from freshman to doctoral level courses), especially in the areas of post-World War II literature, women’s literature, literary theory, and creative writing. In her work with doctoral students, she has directed twelve dissertations to completion.  

The Dean's Role

The dean is the chief academic and administrative officer of a college. The dean advances the mission of the college by setting administrative and academic priorities, and by working with schools and departments to help them fulfill their respective academic missions. The dean also represents the college in its relationship with the central university administration and to external audiences.

LETTER FROM THE DEAN
 
Current CV


Dean Thomas w. Smith, Ph.D.

Campus Dean, St.Petersburg campus

Thomas Smith

Thomas W. Smith is Professor of Political Science and Acting Campus Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of South Florida’s St. Petersburg campus. He holds a B.A. in Anthropology from the College of William & Mary and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia. He has taught at USF since 2000. From 1997-2000 Dr. Smith was an assistant professor of International Relations at Koç University in Istanbul. During the summer of 1999 he was a visiting scholar at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Harvard University. He spent the 2007-2008 academic year at Stanford University.  
 
Dr. Smith has published widely in the fields of human rights, international humanitarian law, and Turkish politics. His second book, Human Rights and War Through Civilian Eyes, was published by the University of Pennsylvania Press. His current research focuses on the destruction of Kurdish cities in Southeastern Turkey and on the impact of Neo-Ottomanism on human rights in Turkey. 

Current CV

DEAN PAUL A. KIRCHMAN, PH.D.

Campus Dean, Sarasota-Manatee campus

Paul Kirchman

Dr. Kirchman is the campus dean of the College of Arts & Sciences at USF Sarasota-Manatee campus. Prior to his appointment at University of South Florida, he was a founding member of Florida Atlantic University’s Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College and for 10 years served as the Chair of Science and Mathematics.

In his 17 years of experience, he helped build the Wilkes Honors College to more than 400 students, initiated a combined BA/MD program with Florida Atlantic University’s Schmidt College of Medicine, and launched several internship programs at hospitals and research centers along the East Coast, including the Scripps Florida Research Institute and Max Planck Florida Institute.

His research interests include aging, mitochondrial metabolism, and cross-kingdom symbiosis.

Dr. Kirchman received his PhD in Molecular Biology from Emory University and his BS in Biology from Eckerd College.

Current CV