Dr. Heather Hathaway is acting dean of the Helen Way Klingler College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Education.

Hathaway has held leadership roles at ̽»¨ÊÓƵ across department, college, and university levels. She was acting dean of the Klingler College of Arts and Sciences in 2019–20, early during the pandemic. She was associate dean for academic affairs (2005–08, 2017–19) and for faculty and graduate studies (2020–21). Prior to returning to the dean’s office, she served on the University Promotion and Tenure Committee, Faculty Hearing Committee, Summer Faculty Fellowship Award committee, and Raynor Scholarship Award committee.

Hathaway, whose research focuses on African American and Japanese American literature and culture, earned her bachelor’s degree in English and American Studies from Wesleyan University and her Ph.D. in the History of American Civilization from Harvard University. She has published numerous articles, two books and two scholarly collections. She has received grants from the American Council of Learned Societies, the American Studies Association and the American Association of University Women. For her teaching, she was awarded ̽»¨ÊÓƵ’s John P. Raynor Award for Teaching Excellence and the National Residence Hall Honorary Faculty Excellence Award. Last spring, Hathaway was named A̽»¨ÊÓƵW Professor of the Humanities.