UC College of Arts and Sciences welcomes new leadership
Littisha Bates, Jay Twomey selected as senior associate dean, divisional dean
The University of Cincinnati's College of Arts and Sciences announced Littisha Bates and Jay Twomey as the newest additions to the Office of the Dean.
Bates and Twomey’s appointments will bring new focus on the reach and relevance of the humanities as a holistic field of study, and the cultivation of a climate of psychological safety and inclusion.
Meet Littisha Bates, A&S senior associate dean
“It really for me is an honor to do this work”
Littisha Bates
“My primary objective is to ensure that we are cultivating a culture of psychological safety in the college. I think the way in which that safety plays out is a lot of different ways. It is in our processes and procedures for how we do our work,” Bates said.
Bates has had an extensive UC career spanning more than a decade. Previously, she served as the Associate Dean for Inclusive Excellence and Community Partnerships. Her tenure under the leadership of Dean James Mack has given her ample time to see where she can help take A&S to new heights, she says.
“Part of my charge that Dean Mack has given me is to ensure that we have a college that is operating as a psychologically safe culture,” Bates said. “A climate of inclusion, belonging and respect for everyone that inhabits our college, and I think all of that circles around to elevate the profile of the College of Arts and Sciences as a destination college at a destination school.”
This position was not always at the forefront for Bates, but the mission of pushing the college towards excellence was.
“I was never really interested in being an administrator and so it does feel a bit surreal to be sitting here as the senior associate dean. On the other hand, once becoming an administrator and associate dean, I really got to see the impact that I can make and be a part of the change that I wanted to see.
“It really for me is an honor to be able to do this work because it is a passion work. It's my heart’s work. And so I'm excited and humbled to be able to serve Dean Mack and the College in this way.”
Bates has served UC as both an assistant and associate professor. Currently, she is a faculty affiliate of the Department of Africana Studies. She earned her bachelor’s degree in sociology from Grand Valley State University and a doctorate in sociology from Arizona State University in 2009.
Her research at UC includes education, family, demography and social stratification.
Meet Jay Twomey, A&S divisional dean of humanities
“I want to share our expertise with colleagues and students across campus.”
Jay Twomey
“I really want to emphasize the importance of the humanities for our students, the wider UC community, and society in general,” Twomey said.
With his division spread across languages and other social arts, Twomey's work will be cut out for him. He said he is looking forward to increasing students’ breadth of knowledge of humanities.
“I want to share our expertise with colleagues and students across campus. In practice, we encompass a host of specific interests, including the ethics of AI, the craft of poetry, film, ancient sports, graphic novels, caste in the Indian diaspora, Islamic mysticism and much, much more,” he said.
To scholars of the humanities, this field represents a chance to dig deeper into everyday social elements.
“But at core, the content of the humanities is the content of everyday life — language, story, identity, memory, ideas, beliefs, traditions, feelings. Which is to say, we can and do contribute to every endeavor with our scholarship, creative work and teaching.
“One of my key jobs as divisional dean is to broadcast that message as productively and clearly as I possibly can,” Twomey said.
Twomey sees his new appointment as a continuation rather than a new start.
“I wouldn’t have opted to continue had I not felt that I can be helpful to the division,” he said.
Twomey is a professor of English and served as the interim divisional dean of humanities since fall of 2022. Before deanship, he worked as director of undergraduate studies and department head for English and comparative literature.
He earned his doctorate in comparative literature from the University of Illinoi Urbana-Champaign. He is a scholar of biblical reception studies, literary theory, comparative literature and American literature. He is author of the books “The Pastoral Epistles through the Centuries” (2009) and “2 Corinthians: Crisis and Conflict” (2013).
Featured Image at Top: Aerial View of Arts & Sciences Hall. Photo/Andrew Higley/UC Marketing + Brand
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