Dr. Heather Hathaway, professor of English in the Klingler College of Arts and Sciences, has been named acting dean of the Klingler College of Arts and Sciences and College of Education effective Aug. 1, Acting Provost Sarah Feldner announced today. She succeeds Dr. Heidi Bostic, who led the Klingler College of Arts and Sciences for five years and will be taking a sabbatical for the upcoming academic year before joining the faculty.
“Dr. Hathaway has a stellar track record as a college leader in permanent and acting roles, and she has earned the respect of her peers and colleagues throughout the university,” Acting Provost Feldner said. “I have great confidence in her leading the colleges of Arts and Sciences and of Education through this transition. On behalf of the university community, I’d like to thank Dr. Bostic for her leadership and service to the university as dean for the past five years.”
“This is a challenging time in higher education,” Hathaway said, “but I strongly believe in the value of Marquette’s Jesuit, liberal arts foundation. I look forward to working closely with Arts and Sciences and Education faculty to continue to provide an outstanding education to Marquette students.”
Dr. Hathaway has held leadership roles at Marquette 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). Since leaving the dean’s office, she has 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 Marquette’s John P. Raynor Award for Teaching Excellence and the National Residence Hall Honorary Faculty Excellence Award. Last spring, Hathaway was named AMUW Professor of the Humanities.
