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Dear UHD Community,

I am pleased to announce UHD's new Director of the Honors Program, Dean Kostantaras.

Dr. Kostantaras has many years of experience in honors education, beginning with his time as a member of the Honors Program of George Washington University and the Honors College of the University of Illinois at Chicago. In both positions, he taught interdisciplinary seminars and participated in a range of curriculum development and programming initiatives. Most recently, he was Associate Professor of History and Interim Director of the Louisiana Scholars' College, which is the state-designated honors college of the University of Louisiana System. Kostantaras is an active researcher in the field of modern European history and is particularly interested in the formation of national movements. His scholarship in this area includes two monographs and many research articles in journals such as Nations and Nationalism, History: The Journal of the Historical Association, European History Quarterly, Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies, European Review of History, and the Journal of Early Modern History. Dr. Kostantaras's first day is July 1, and his office is 405 South, OMB. His home department is in History, Humanities, and Languages and he will be teaching honors history classes, in addition to his administrative leadership of the Honors Program.

Dean Kostantaras photo

Many thanks go to Dr. Catherine Howard, Sr. Lecturer in English, for her excellent interim leadership of UHD's Honors Program since the Fall of 2021. She will assist with the transition and work under the Provost Office during the summer. Dr. Howard will resume her teaching responsibilities in August.

I thank Dean Akif Uzman for chairing the search committee for the Dean of MDCOB and the dedicated members of the search committee.

I want to thank the Search Committee, led by Dr. Tim Redl, for their diligent work and commitment to this important search. Also, I thank the Honors Council for their continued support of this important and growing program. Last, I direct high praise toward the Honors students who attended the job talks, asked excellent questions to the candidates, and provided important feedback to the search committee.

Best Wishes,
David Ryden, Ph.D.
AVP, Programming and Curriculum