Office of the Dean
Irwin Weiser
Interim Dean
Irwin "Bud" Weiser, Interim Dean of the College of Liberal Arts, is the chief academic and administrative officer of the college. He works with the college’s department heads, program directors, faculty, and staff to facilitate and nurture academic excellence at all levels from undergraduate and graduate education to faculty research and creative endeavor. Weiser will serve in an interim capacity while a national search for the new dean is conducted this academic year. Weiser has been head of the Department of English since 2002. He has been teaching and administering introductory writing programs, including developmental writing, at Purdue since 1981. His primary area of interest is composition pedagogy, and he has focused his graduate teaching on topics such as writing across the curriculum, writing assessment and composition research methods.
Tom Berndt
Associate Dean
Tom Berndt coordinates programs of support for faculty research that are administered by the college or that require college review before being forwarded to the University level. He is also responsible for international travel grants and for managing external grant submissions for the college, including grant application processing and cost-sharing commitments. He serves as the college liaison with Sponsored Program Services, the Office of the Vice President for Research, and the Graduate School (for matters involving education, including graduate fellowships). Working with the dean, he monitors space assignments and other space issues. Tom is a faculty member in Psychological Sciences, specializing in developmental psychology, and currently serves as interim department head in the department of Foreign Languages and Literatures.
Barbara Dixon
Associate Dean
As associate dean for administration, Barbara Dixon serves as the scholarship coordinator for the college. Additionally, she is a liaison for communication about Liberal Arts, working with personnel from Purdue University News Service and the Office of Marketing and Media to ensure there are accurate and interesting stories and photos about the CLA faculty, alumni, and students. She also serves as the dean’s representative on the Teacher Education Council, and acts as the coordinator for assessment in the College of Liberal Arts.
Joan Marshall
Senior Associate Dean
Joan Marshall serves as a resource to department heads, faculty, and staff in the college about academic and personnel policies and procedures. She is the college coordinator for affirmative action and the college liaison to the CLA Diversity Action Committee and other campus offices for diversity. Joan monitors the faculty hiring process and coordinates orientation activities for new faculty and department heads. As the contact person for harassment complaints in the college, she is the dean’s office liaison with the Sexual Harassment Advisors’ Network. She provides information and assistance to the College of Liberal Arts Faculty Senate and the standing and ad hoc college and senate committees. She also oversees the Administrative/Professional Staff Development Fund competition and the Administrative/Professional Staff Networking Program.
JoAnn Miller
Associate Dean
JoAnn Miller oversees the college’s 17 interdisciplinary studies programs: African American Studies, American Studies, Asian American Studies, Asian Studies, Classical Studies, Comparative Literature, Film & Video Studies, Global Studies, Italian Studies, Jewish Studies, Latin American and Latino Studies, Linguistics, Medieval and Renaissance Studies, Peace Studies, Philosophy and Literature, Religious Studies, and Women’s Studies. She administers periodic program reviews, provides budget oversight, and administers graduate fellowships for the interdisciplinary programs. She is also responsible for the Purdue Liberal Arts Engagement initiative. Engagement supports the Building Community Program, which brings scholars, students, and community leaders together to examine pressing social issues that are in need of greater understanding. Building Community invites Purdue faculty to submit proposals for new projects each year. An advisory board makes recommendations to the associate dean to fund and support Building Community activities that take place on campus and in the community. JoAnn is currently the interim department head in Sociology. As a faculty member in Sociology, she specializes in Sociology of Law and Social Problems.
David Santogrossi
Associate Dean
David Santogrossi oversees Liberal Arts Student Services, which includes undergraduate student Recruitment, Academic Advising (now including the implementation of Banner, the online registration system), Honors, Diversity, Academic Success, and Career Services, with useful resources for students, parents, and faculty. He helps allocate teaching resources, monitoring enrollment, efficiency, and demand. He also coordinates International Programs and Study Abroad in the college, and chairs the grade appeals board. He has responsibility for undergraduate awards and faculty teaching award selection, and he chairs the college committee for emergency preparedness. As a member of the Psychological Sciences faculty, he is a Murphy teaching award winner, a founding member of the Teaching Academy, and an inaugural listing in the Purdue Book of Great Teachers.
Mona Holdcraft
Director of Financial Affairs
Mona Holdcraft is the director of financial affairs for Liberal Arts. The role of the business office is to serve as the liaison between the academic areas and the central offices – e.g., purchasing, payroll, accounting, personnel, sponsored program services, staff benefits, etc. In this role, we provide information and assistance to departments in the interpretation and execution of University, federal, state, and sponsoring-agency financial policies, regulations, and procedures. We provide account management, payroll, purchasing, property management, and other services; maintain various systems and procedures; and assure the appropriate financial and budgetary accountability for all fiscal activities of the college.
There are ten separate business offices throughout the College of Liberal Arts, which are staffed by the director of financial affairs, the assistant director, four departmental business managers, and 19 account clerks. These individuals provide business services and financial administration for the Liberal Arts deans, department heads, faculty, and staff.
Brett Chambers
Director of Information Technology
Brett Chambers is the director of Information Technology. As director, he oversees the services provided, identifies resources, determines strategic directions, and develops and interprets policies. The director works closely with the deans, department heads, and individuals in other campus technology organizations to discuss issues that either impact or are affected by information technology. The College of Liberal Arts Office of Information Technology, or CLA IT, is one of Purdue's "distributed IT" groups. We are proud to collaborate with ITaP and other campus IT organizations. CLA IT staff provide support to faculty and staff in departments and units throughout the college.
The Office of Information Technology promotes and supports the use of information technology in all areas of the college—research, instruction, and administration—so that faculty, students, and staff can teach, learn, work, and produce more effectively. We help support the use of technology on your desktop, in labs, and elsewhere. We identify and support applications and systems for your needs and explore new technologies that will meet future needs. Specific services provided by this office include: network infrastructure administration and development; consultation for purchases; support of instructional computing; and administration of instructional computing labs. Liberal Arts faculty and staff may request CLA IT support services by sending an e-mail to ithelp@purdue.edu or by calling our service desk at 6-6333.
Lori Sparger
Director of Development
Lori Sparger is director of advancement and Erin Bittinger is director of development for the College of Liberal Arts. The generous support of our alumni and friends is critical to providing top-notch faculty, facilities, scholarships, and programs to our undergraduate and graduate students, and enhances the Purdue experience.
The development team is responsible for raising funds from alumni, friends, and organizations in support of the college, its faculty, departments, and programs. The team focuses primarily on cultivating major gift prospects, and works with the central University Development Office on other development efforts, including direct mail appeals, telemarketing, and corporate and foundation relations.
We are also here to be our faculty's advocate, and try to
Erin Bittinger
Director of Development
help departments identify funding sources for specific needs and develop proposals for submission. In addition, we seek to identify alumni who are interested in supporting particular programs or want to learn more about department initiatives.
The college's development office is also responsible for alumni relations, hosting several events on campus, and participating in University-wide events around the country. The college’s alumni board is actively involved in these events as well as the Distinguished Alumni Awards and Outstanding Seniors Banquet.
Contact Us
College of Liberal Arts
100 N. University Street
West Lafayette, IN 47907-2067 USA
Phone 765-494-3663
Fax 765-494-3660