Arts & Sciences names new senior associate dean

Meredith A. Newman has been named the senior associate dean for the College of Arts & Sciences.

In this new role, Newman will oversee programs that support Arts & Sciences faculty. She replaces Nicol Rae, who was recently named as dean of the College of Letters and Science at Montana State University.

“Dr. Newman maintains a level of commitment and intensity that is admired by so many at this university,” said Arts & Sciences Dean Kenneth G. Furton. “Her energy makes her a perfect fit for the many exciting activities we have under way in the College of Arts & Sciences.”

Newman joined the faculty at FIU in 2006 as Director of the School of Public Administration. She most recently served as the chair of the Department of Public Administration within the college’s School of International and Public Affairs. Her successful academic career includes teaching posts at the University of Illinois at Springfield and at Washington State University, Vancouver.

Prior to her career in academia, Newman served with the Australian Foreign Service in France and Vietnam and spent eight years with the United States Department of State, serving as an administrative officer in American embassies in Singapore, Malaysia and Senegal. She also served as a bilingual administrative officer for the World Bank.

Newman was awarded her Ph.D. in Policy Studies and her B.A. in Political Science by Deakin University in Australia and her Master of Public Administration degree by the University of Central Florida.

She is widely published in the areas of public management, human resources, and the emotive aspects of work, having written two books as well as more than 50 articles, book chapters, numerous reviews and other publications. Her books have won several awards, including the Best Book Award of the Academy of Management Public and Nonprofit Division.

An active member of the profession, Newman is past chair of the Commission on Peer Review and Accreditation of the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration, serves as vice president for North America of the International Association of Schools and Institutes of Administration, and is past president of the American Society for Public Administration.  She is a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration.

Newman was most recently honored by UCF with the 2012 College of Health and Public Affairs Professional Achievement Award and its 2012 Outstanding Alumni Award.