USI taps Beeby as next dean of the College of Liberal Arts

Dr. James M. Beeby has accepted the position of dean of the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Southern Indiana. The announcement was made Friday, February 19 by Dr. Ronald Rochon, provost of the University, and is effective July 1, 2016. Beeby succeeds Michael Aakhus, who retired as dean in December. Dr. Michael Dixon, associate dean and professor of history, has served as interim dean since January.

"I'm excited for Dr. Beeby to join our USI community," said Rochon. "He has great experience, strong academic credentials and colleagues around the country speak boldly of his leadership and integrity."

Beeby is professor of history and chair of the History Department at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU). He hails from a small village in Northamptonshire, England. He earned his bachelor's degree in history from the University of Wales, and a master's and doctorate in history and American culture studies from Bowling Green State University in Ohio.

At MTSU, he chairs a large department with a nationally ranked doctoral program in public history, and he currently serves on the university's Chairs Council, the President's Leadership Council and on the leadership team of the College of Liberal Arts. His emphasis is on teaching and the role of faculty in mentoring and educating students.

"I am deeply honored to have the opportunity to join the University of Southern Indiana and serve as the dean of the College of Liberal Arts," said Beeby. "I look forward to working with an energetic and visionary president, a superb provost and terrific faculty and staff, as well as students and alumni, to build on USI's rich tradition of excellence and its lead role as an institution engaged with the community and committed to student success. I am excited to join the institution at a pivotal moment in its history, as it moves forward to 'shape the future through learning and innovation.'"

Working with his colleagues in History, Beeby has led efforts related to curricular changes, course redesign, a faculty-mentoring program and new research agendas, and has managed the budget to invest in faculty development and student scholarships. Before arriving at MTSU in 2012 as chair, Beeby served on the faculty at Indiana University Southeast where he was coordinator of the History Program in the School of Social Sciences; West Virginia Wesleyan College, where he also served as director of the Honors Program; and Bowling Green State University, where he also was a doctoral fellow.

Beeby has published extensively in the fields of U.S. southern history, African American history, race relations and the Gilded Age and Progressive Era, including scholarly journals and book chapters. He is the author of two University Press peer reviewed books: Populism in the South Revisited: New Research and Interpretations (2012) and Revolt of the Tar Heels: The North Carolina Populist Movement, 1890-1901 (2008 and 2012).

He has been awarded numerous fellowships and recognition for his research and teaching throughout his career. He is a fellow of the Royal Historical Society of Great Britain, the highest honor in that country, for his contribution to the scholarship and profession of history.

The College of Liberal Arts is one of four colleges at the University of Southern Indiana in Evansville. It offers more than 30 majors and emphases and a similar number of minors in the departments of Art, Communications, English, History, Performing Arts, Philosophy, Political Science and Public Administration, Psychology, Social Work, the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies, World Languages and Cultures, and Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminal Justice Studies.