Open forums begin Nov. 14 for Honors College dean finalists

University of New Mexico Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs James Holloway has announced four finalists for dean of the Honors College.

Each candidate will hold open forums for students, staff, faculty, and also a presentation, which will be open to all.

The candidates and dates of their visits are:

Naomi Yavneh Klos
Naomi Yavneh Klos is the Reverend Emmett M. Bienvenu, SJ, Distinguished Chair in Humanities and is professor of Languages and Cultures at Loyola University New Orleans. From 2011 to 2018, she directed Loyola's University Honors Program, where she developed a curriculum focused on social justice and diversity. Klos was president of the National Collegiate Honors Council, focusing on initiatives of access, equity and inclusive excellence in higher education. Her leadership in experiential learning and research opportunities led her to a Fulbright Fellowship in the Netherlands, where she taught at Windesheim Honours College and collaborated with the Anne Frank House.

In addition, Klos is the founding director of the Office of Undergraduate Research and former associate dean of the Honors College at the University of South Florida and was the founding chair of the Council of Undergraduate Research's Arts and Humanities Division. She earned a bachelor of arts degree from Princeton University and a master of arts and Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, specializing in comparative literature.

Campus visit dates: Nov. 14 and 15
Open presentation: Nov. 14, 10:30-11:30 a.m., Honors College Forum (Room 1010)

Rocio Rivadeneyra
Rocio Rivadeneyra is the associate dean in the College of Arts and Sciences at Illinois State University, where her portfolio includes academic programs, curriculum and student success. She also holds a faculty position at Illinois State University in the Department of Psychology with affiliations in Latin American and Latino/a Studies and Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies. She was director of the Honors Program from 2016-2020, where she implemented holistic admissions and more inclusive practices in the curriculum and general program leading to growth in enrollment and diversity of the program. In addition, she was interim chair of the Department of Communication Science and Disorders.

Her research has focused on Latino/a youth development with a focus on gender, ethnic identity, and sexual socialization through English- and Spanish-language media in the United States. She earned a bachelor of arts degree from the University of California, Irvine in psychology and social behavior with a minor in Chicano/a studies and a master of arts and Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in psychology.

Campus visit dates: Nov. 18 and 19
Open presentation: Nov. 18, 1:30-2:30 p.m., Honors College Forum (Room 1010)

Vanessa Valdés
Vanessa Valdés is a professor of Spanish and Portuguese at The City College of New York, where she has been a member of the faculty since 2007. She also has been associate provost of community engagement, the interim dean of the Macaulay Honors College, and the director of the Black Studies Program at City College. Her scholarly work focuses on the literatures, visual arts, performances and histories of Black peoples throughout the Western hemisphere.

Valdés is the author and editor of seven books, including Let Spirit Speak! Cultural Journeys through the African Diaspora and The Future Is Now: A New Look at African Diaspora Studies. She is the editor of the Afro-Latinx Futures series at the State University of New York Press and is the co-editor of the Global Black Writers in Translation series at Vanderbilt University Press. She earned a bachelor of arts degree from Yale University in English, then master of arts degrees in Portuguese and Spanish, and a Ph.D. in both Spanish and Portuguese, all from Vanderbilt University.

Campus visit dates: Nov. 20 and 21
Open presentation: Nov. 20, 10:30-11:30 a.m., Honors College Forum (Room 1010)

Cassander L. Smith
Cassander Smith is the associate dean for academic affairs in the Honors College and a professor of English at the University of Alabama. Before becoming associate dean, she served two years as the Provost Faculty fellow for diversity, equity and inclusion at University of Alabama. She has written two books, Black Africans in the British Imagination and Race and Respectability in an Early Black Atlantic, and co-edited several volumes, including one focused on pedagogy and race, titled Teaching with Tension: Race, Resistance, and Reality in the Classroom. She earned a bachelor of science degree in newspaper journalism from Florida A&M University, and earned a master of fine arts in fiction and a Ph.D. in literary studies, both from Purdue University.

Campus visit dates: Nov. 21 and 22
Open presentation: Nov. 21, 10:30-11:30 a.m., Honors College Forum (Room 1010)

Additional information on the position and each candidate can be found on the Executive Search website.

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