Staff - Office of the Dean of the Faculty

Dean of the Faculty, Fuller-Maathai Professor of Gender, Sexuality and Intersectionality Studies

R. Danielle Egan, the Fuller-Maathai Professor of Gender, Sexuality and Intersectionality Studies at Connecticut College, is Dean of the Faculty and Chief Academic Officer. The highest-ranking officer after the president, the Dean of the Faculty is responsible for providing academic leadership for the College and its faculty.

regan1@conncoll.edu Phone: (860) 439-2030

Faculty Profile

Associate Dean of Faculty for Faculty Affairs, Professor of Biology

The Associate Dean of the Faculty for Faculty Affairs (ADoFA) focuses on the roles of the faculty as teacher-scholars and community members.  The ADoFA hires and supports visiting and adjunct faculty, coordinates faculty development and mentoring programs, and manages sharing of faculty accolades.  They manage internal and external funding opportunities, liaise with the Committee on Faculty Compensation on internal competitive funding and sabbatical requests, and serves as the Research Integrity Officer.  The ADoFA oversees the organization, work, staff and leadership of academic departments and programs and serves as a liaison to the Athletics Department, Title IX coordinator, and the Vice President for Retention and Success. They oversee the Center for Teaching and Learning, Walter Commons for Global Study and Engagement, and Community Engagement through the Holleran Center.  daeas@conncoll.edu Phone: (860) 439-2445

Professor Eastman studies the conversations that cells have during embryonic development. She and her students use cellular, computational, genetic, and molecular approaches to examine the signaling pathways and transcriptional regulatory mechanisms that are critical to cell specialization.  Her main focus has been on the Notch pathway, which has been conserved from worms to humans and altered forms of Notch pathway proteins result in human diseases such as tumors, stroke and dementia (CADASIL), Alzheimer's Disease and Allagilles Syndrome. She has studied Notch signaling in several model organisms, including Drosophila melanogaster (fruitflies) and Ambystoma mexicanum (Mexican salamanders or axolotls) in order to identify potential co-regulators of Notch target genes during sensory organ development. Her lab recently published a genome-wide study using RNAseq to identify potential genes involved in taste cell differentiation in axolotls.

Professor Eastman teaches courses in biological inquiry, cells and molecules, molecular development, stem cells and cell signaling.

daeas@conncoll.edu Phone: (860) 439-2445

Faculty Profile

Associate Dean of the Faculty for Academic Affairs, Professor of Botany and Environmental Studies

The ADoAA focuses on supporting faculty work related to the curriculum. They coordinate and monitor course schedules, teaching loads, and course enrollments as well as the Connections general education program and Summer Courses program. They collaborate with the Office of Institutional Research on annual curricular assessment, and oversee department, program and center self-studies and visiting committees. The ADoAA chairs the academic calendar committee, serves as the DoF representative on the Academic and Administrative Procedures Committee, the Commencement Committee, the Co-Sponsorship fund committee, and serves as a participating member of the Educational Planning Committee. The ADoAA liaises with the Academic Resource Center and Office of Admissions regarding prospective student programming.

Professor Jones studies how plants colonize new areas. He has studied plant colonization following a broad array of disturbances ranging from volcanic eruptions and the retreat of glaciers to gopher mounds in mountain meadows. His current work focuses on understanding why some forests have more invasive plants than others, and how the age and land-use history of forests impact invasion patterns. A second major professional interest relates to holistic sustainability - understanding how environmental issues and solutions are interwoven with social justice and economics. 

Chad teaches courses in environmental studies, plant systematics, plant ecology, sustainability, and ecological restoration.

cjones8@conncoll.edu Phone: (860) 439-2304

Faculty Profile

Executive Assistant to the Office of the Dean of the Faculty and Secretary to the Faculty

Amanda provides executive level administrative support to the Dean of the Faculty.  She supports the Committee on Appointments, Promotion, and Tenure (CAPT) and the Committee on Academic Affairs of the Board of Trustees.  She manages endowed chair appointments with the Dean of the Faculty and CAPT, and she supports the Dean of the Faculty on Department Chair, Center Director, and Program Director appointments.  Amanda executes special projects for the Dean of the Faculty and provides administrative office support to the Associate Deans of the Faculty on projects including faculty office assignments and academic assistant searches and hiring. She works as a liaison between the department academic assistants (FASTeam) and the Office of the Dean of the Faculty. 

As Secretary to the Faculty, Amanda provides administrative support for faculty governance to faculty committees, including the Faculty Steering and Conference Committee (FSCC).  She organizes and staffs faculty meetings and faculty-staff meetings, in addition to other faculty committee meetings; she records legislative and curricular changes in IFF: Information for Faculty, Administrators and Trustees, maintains the “pink sheet”, and she manages the committee roster and membership on and distribution to the faculty lists/listservs.

abarnes@conncoll.edu Phone: 860-439-2030

Budget Manager and Academic Grant Liaison

Deb oversees all aspects of the Office of the Dean of the Faculty operations budget, restricted funds, endowed chair funds, start-up funds, research funds, faculty and staff salary budgets, and institutional grants that fall under the purview of the Office of the Dean of the Faculty division. She works closely with all areas of the Dean of the Faculty division on budget management for operating and restricted fund use. She approves PCard and CTW OneSource transactions on behalf of the Dean of the Faculty and supports the Associate Dean of the Faculty and the Committee on Faculty Compensation (CFC) on review and approvals for Research Matters, RF Johnson, and Faculty Student Engagement funds. Deb will also be providing budget management support for institutional academic grants.

ddupuis@conncoll.edu Phone: 860-439-2013

Faculty Hiring Specialist

LaRonda serves as our dedicated Human Resources Specialist and primary liaison to both the Human Resources and Payroll departments. She plays a vital role in supporting our department’s personnel processes, ensuring compliance with university policies and procedures. She oversees all aspects of faculty hiring and onboarding, working closely with new and returning faculty to facilitate a smooth and timely integration into the department. She also manages faculty stipends and coordinates with Payroll to ensure accurate and timely compensation. In her role, LaRonda provides guidance on HR-related matters, including job postings, contract processing, personnel records, and policy interpretation. Her expertise ensures that our department maintains operational efficiency and supports the well-being of our faculty and staff.

levans3@conncoll.edu Phone: 860-439-2080

Administrative Assistant to the Office of the Dean of the Faculty

Lexa manages calendars for the Associate Dean of the Faculty for Faculty Affairs and the Associate Dean of the Faculty for Academic Affairs.  Lexa provides general administrative support to the Office of the Dean of the Faculty as well as support with special projects.  She leads project management initiatives and coordinates events including Endowed Chair dinners, Faculty@Work, the annual Faculty Recognition event, and the retiree reception.  Lexa also supports Visiting Committee logistics, provides office reception and makes a mean latte.

areinhart@conncoll.edu Phone: 860-439-2030