Dr. Robert Bookwalter has been named dean of the Marshall University College of Liberal Arts, according to Dr. Gayle Ormiston, senior vice president of academic affairs and provost. Bookwalter has served as interim dean of the college since June 1, 2013. His new appointment begins July 1.
“I am honored to have been selected as dean of the College of Liberal Arts,” Bookwalter said. “I look forward to working with the faculty and the students to face the challenges that we are presented with now in higher education. I understand that this is my greatest responsibility – to serve our students and to help strengthen our programs, along with the faculty and administration.”
Ormiston said, “Dr. Bookwalter brings a wealth of knowledge and experience that is highly valued by everyone on our campus. His ‘students-first’ philosophy makes the academic programs he and the faculty within the College of Liberal Arts are building even more outstanding.”
Bookwalter praised the faculty in Marshall’s College of Liberal Arts.
“I have the benefit of working with the best faculty at Marshall in majors that are providing the very foundation of university education and provide the preparation that our students need for success in their personal, professional and civic lives,” he said. “I look forward to strengthening the college and creating better efficiency, effectiveness, engagement and expansion in the years to come.”
Amber Wright, who will be a graduate student at Marshall beginning this fall and currently is an office assistant in the College of Liberal Arts, spoke highly of Bookwalter.
“I can’t think of a better man for the job,” Wright said. “I am fairly new to the area, and Dr. B has gone above and beyond to welcome me to the Marshall community, giving me work within the College of Liberal Arts and encouraging me to pursue graduate studies within the college which I will be beginning in the fall. As interim, he has already demonstrated an obvious competence for the duties of the position, and I’m so glad that he will be carrying on in more official terms. I’ve observed a kind-hearted, levelheaded nature in his personality and can testify that he genuinely has the success and well-being of the student as a priority. Likewise he cares about the faculty and staff and always takes a personal interest in the matters concerning the operations of the college. I admire that he carries himself with exceptional professionalism and without pretention. I am confident the College of Liberal Arts is in good hands as I begin my education at Marshall.”
Bookwalter joined the Department of Speech (now Communication Studies) in 1987. His teaching and research interests are in the areas of peace and conflict studies, interpersonal communication, group dynamics, leadership and language. While at Marshall he has served as chair of the College of Liberal Arts Academic Planning Committee and Curriculum Committee and served on the college’s Promotion and Tenure Committee.
He served as director of the Oral Communication component of the General Education program for 15 years. In 2009, he led the university’s General Education Council which oversaw the transition to the new Core Curriculum. He also served as Faculty Athletics Representative to the NCAA from 2002 to 2012.
A native of San Jose, Calif., Bookwalter received his B.A. in Speech Communication from Fresno State University in 1979, his M.A. in Interpersonal Communication from the University of Montana in 1982 and his Ph.D. in Communication Studies from the University of Kansas in 1989.
