Jonathan Farina Appointed Interim Dean of College of Arts and Sciences
Tuesday, May 2, 2023
Now in his 14th year at Seton Hall, Farina currently serves as Interim Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education and Assessment. He succeeds Georita Frierson, Ph.D., who is stepping down to become provost and vice president of academic affairs at the University of Southern Maine.
A well-known and widely-respected member of the University, Farina brings to the interim role additional administrative experience both inside and outside Seton Hall, including four years as President of the Northeast Victorian Studies Association and three years as an elected representative on the Modern Language Association delegate assembly.
“Jonathan’s experience collaborating with institutional partners at all levels and all areas of the University and with external constituencies, associations, and other entities gives me confidence that he will provide outstanding leadership of the College of Arts and Sciences as the University conducts a national search for the next full-time dean,” said Katia Passerini, Ph.D., provost and executive vice president.
As interim associate provost, Farina launched the University’s innovative Academies program and was instrumental in refocusing academic program assessment on improving student learning outcomes, expanding opportunities for undergraduate research and experiential learning, and promoting faculty grants, scholarship, and success. He is also a member of the Middle States Self-Study Steering Committee, and he has helped promote the creation of many new academic programs at the University.
He has distinguished himself as a scholar and teacher in the Department of English, where he specializes in 19th-century British fiction and the history of knowledge production.
His first book, Everyday Words and the Character of Prose in Nineteenth-Century Britain (Cambridge University Press, 2017), earned Honorable Mention for the Sonya Rudikoff Prize for the Best First Book in Victorian Studies and went to paperback in 2019. He has authored more than 20 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, most recently a forthcoming chapter on dialogue for the Oxford Companion to George Eliot; and more than 25 scholarly book reviews and omnibus review essays. He is presently at work on an alternative history of literary criticism.
In 2021, Farina received the Albert B. Hakim Faculty Service Medal from his colleagues. Highlights of his service at the University include three consecutive years as Chair and two years as Executive Secretary of the Faculty Senate. He has served as director of graduate studies in English; as an associate director of the University Honors Program; and on academic vision and strategic plan implementation committees, among numerous other standing committees and ad hoc task forces that have been crucial to Seton Hall’s success.
Categories: Arts and Culture, Campus Life
