Announcing Our New Interim Deans
A message to the Saint Mary's Community
Coinciding with the kick-off of the first week of the new spring semester, we are pleased to announce the selection of our three Interim Deans. We would like to extend our thanks to the three School advisory groups, their representatives, and others who provided input and feedback on our nominees. Our new Interim Deans are:
Alice Baldridge, PhD, will be returning to the role of Interim Dean for the School of Science (SOS) a position she held in 2023-2024.
Alice is well known on campus as a champion for interdisciplinary collaboration, faculty development, and inclusive student-centered STEM learning. She joined SMC in 2012 and, as director of Environmental and Earth Sciences, she built a curriculum that delivers high-quality, interdisciplinary science education to our students.
She is a planetary geologist who has received two multi-institutional NASA research grants that provide field experiences for Saint Mary’s students alongside NASA scientists and engineers. In addition to her work with EES, she has served in multiple roles across the College, including Residential Director, science representative for the Core Curriculum Committee, member of the Workload Planning Group and the Academic Contingency Planning Working Group, faculty representative to the Brother John Johnson Institute for Contemporary Lasallian Education, and the Vice Chair of the Academic Senate.
As Interim Dean of SOS, Alice developed and continues to lead a strategic plan aimed at positioning the School as a leader in STEM education. Her efforts have focused on enhancing student experiences, supporting student engagement, expanding graduate programs, and securing funding for student initiatives.
Molly Metherd, PhD, is the new Interim Dean for the School of Liberal Arts (SOLA).
For the past two years, Molly has served as SOLA’s Associate Dean. There, she has worked with faculty to develop new interdisciplinary programs and certificates, identified new philanthropic and grant funding opportunities, overseen the staffing and budgets for the school’s 26 departments and programs, and worked to ensure the vibrancy of the Liberal Arts on campus.
In more than 20 years in the English department, Molly has held many leadership roles. Working to ensure the quality of the Saint Mary’s curriculum, she has served as chair of both the Undergraduate Educational Policies Board and the Program Review committees, and she has also served for two terms as chair of the English department and one as chair of Women’s and Gender Studies, where she has been a tireless advocate for students and faculty. She has also created innovative new programs for the broader community beyond Saint Mary’s, including her collaborative work with colleagues to start both the Summer Creative Camps and the Summer Travel Series.
Molly has taught in all of Saint Mary’s signature programs and is committed to the Liberal Arts and Lasallian traditions at Saint Mary’s.
S. Marshall Perry, PhD, is the new Interim Dean for the Kalmanovitz School of Education (KSOE).
Marshall has been at Saint Mary’s since 2016 and is a Professor of Educational Leadership. From 2020–2022, he served as KSOE’s Associate Dean, and from 2022 to present, he has served as Vice Provost for Academic Innovation.
As a vice provost, Marshall collaborated with campus stakeholders to support academic pathways for SMC students interested in graduate study, such as new “4+1” programs and external guaranteed admission initiatives. Working with faculty and other members of Academic Affairs, Marshall supported the development of new programs including the Bachelor of Science in Nursing and the Masters of Science in Computer Science.
Strategically reviewing student enrollment and labor market data, Marshall conducted academic portfolio reviews, represented the college on the Lasallian Association of Colleges and Universities, and supported a variety of working groups and committees. As a professor, Marshall particularly enjoyed mentoring doctoral students in their dissertations and supporting them at international research conferences. In 2021, Marshall’s research received a citation from the Institute of Education Sciences What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) as one of 15 studies on distance education meeting WWC standards without reservation.
We are confident that Alice, Molly, and Marshall will serve as excellent Interim Deans for each of their three respective Schools. Please join us in congratulating them on their appointments to these important positions!
Thank you,
Roger J. Thompson, EdD
President
Carol Ann Gittens, PhD
Acting Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost