College of Arts & Sciences

Mary Anne Fitzpatrick is the founding Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of South Carolina. This new College (established January 16, 2005) now includes the College of Liberal Arts, the College of Science and Mathematics, the School for the Environment, and the College of Criminal Justice. As the chief academic and operating officer of the College, her responsibilities include strategic planning and policy development (in collaboration with the Senior Staff and the Academic Planning Council), faculty and staff recruitment, retention and support, resource development and allocation, academic program development and review, and external relations. She represents the collective ideas and energies of the faculty, staff, and students of the College of Arts and Sciences.  In support of these activities, between 2006 and 2012, she raised over $55 million in private philanthropy support for college departments and programs.

Previous to her appointment at the University of South Carolina, her career spanned over 25 years at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she served as Deputy Dean for the College of Letters and Science (2002-2004), Vice Provost to the Provost and Chancellor (1999-2001), and Senior Associate Dean (1997-2001). Fitzpatrick held the WARF Kellett Professorship, one of the highest honors that can be bestowed upon a faculty member. An award-winning teacher, Fitzpatrick has taught a number of different courses from the first year through the doctoral levels, and in a variety of formats from a large group lecture to a small seminar.

An active member of the Council of Colleges of Arts and Sciences (CCAS) since 1983, Dean Fitzpatrick is currently the President (2012-2013). Most notably, in 2012 Fitzpatrick was named a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences (AAAS). In November 2012, Fitzpatrick was honored with the National Communication Association’s Mark L. Knapp Award in Interpersonal Communication.  A past President of the International Communication Association, Fitzpatrick received its 2001 Career Achievement Award for sustained excellence in communication research. In 1993, she was elected a Fellow of the same association, one of only 25 in the world at the time. An internationally recognized authority on interpersonal communication, Fitzpatrick is the author of over 100 articles, chapters and books. The NIH, NIMH, and the Spencer Foundation have supported her research. She is often invited to give lectures and presentations in this country and abroad, and to consult with government and educational institutions.