Dr. David V. Powers, Dean of the Seattle University College of Arts and Sciences, announced the appointment of María Bullón-Fernández, PhD, Professor, English, as the Associate Dean of Arts and Humanities.
“I am pleased to welcome Dr. Bullón-Fernández to her new position,” said Dr. Powers, “She is a seasoned leader, at the department level, as Co-Chair the Provost Search Committee, and, most recently, as Co-Chair of the College’s Strategic Planning Committee. She has worked with a wide variety of colleagues and stakeholders across the University. She is a respected professor and educator.”
“The opportunity to serve the college as Associate Dean for Arts and Humanities is an honor that I do not take lightly,” said Dr. Bullón-Fernández. “It's no secret that we are facing a challenging moment, but our College's collective response to these challenges over these last two quarters gives me great hope. I look forward to many generative conversations and I'm excited to work with all of you to bring about a better future for our College and to fulfill our Strategic Plan's goals of inclusive excellence, equity, and justice.”
The Associate Dean for Arts and Humanities is responsible for overseeing the arts and humanities departments and programs within the College of Arts and Sciences and helping build a positive future of academic excellence for the college and the university.
About María Bullón-Fernández, PhD
Twenty-five years ago, I came to Seattle University as an Assistant Professor in the English Department. My trajectory up to that point was not a typical one for a new English professor hire in the United States. I was born in Seville (Spain) and lived there until I graduated from the University of Seville with a BA in English language and literature. After receiving a one-year fellowship to do graduate studies at Cornell University in English, I decided to stay for their PhD program in Medieval Studies, specializing in Middle English literature.
In my time at Seattle University I have both dedicated myself to teaching and research in my field and have taken on leadership positions in order to do my part to serve and contribute to our collective academic project, becoming a Full Professor in 2012. I have been fortunate to teach widely in our College--from courses in the English major to courses in Honors, the Core, and Matteo Ricci College (now Institute). I have published a monograph, edited a collection of essays, and published articles and essays on Middle English literary works, primarily though not exclusively. Informed by feminist and queer theory, my scholarship seeks to investigate the role that gender and sexuality play in literary texts as they interplay with other forms of identity and as they collide with or contribute to specific political and social structures.
I have served my Department, the College, and the University both through participating in numerous committees and by taking on significant leadership positions. Among the latter roles, I was Director of Women Studies for five years and Chair of the English Department for nine years. I also bring with me perspectives from working on initiatives at both the college and university levels: as Co-Chair of the Provost Search Committee and most recently as Co-Chair of the College Strategic Plan Committee.
Having witnessed and participated in the excitement of Spain's transition from a dictatorship to democracy when I was a child, I am passionate about contributing to the institutions I am a part of by bringing my voice to the table but also, especially, by making sure that all voices are heard and finding ways for decision-making to be done through debate and collaboration.