Jason Hicks has been named the dean of the College of Liberal Arts at Auburn University, effective July 1.
Hicks joins Auburn from Louisiana State University, where he currently services as a Provost’s Fellow in the Office of Academic Affairs. He succeeds Ana Franco-Watkins, who served as interim dean since July 2021 following the transition of Joe Aistrup back to the faculty after serving as dean for eight years. Franco-Watkins will return to her position as chair of the Department of Psychological Sciences.
“Throughout the search process, our CLA faculty, staff, students and alumni indicated their desire for an effective leader to bring together diverse viewpoints and create a refreshed vision for the college,” said Vini Nathan, interim provost. “With the selection of Jason Hicks, I am confident that he will deliver on these goals and foster new levels of innovation and excellence across the college’s instruction, research and outreach programs.”
Hicks began his career at LSU in 1998 and rose in the ranks to chair of the Department of Psychology, where he served from 2014-2018. From 2018-2021, he was associate dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, where he created HSS Future Forward, a professional development program for aspirational department leaders.
At Auburn, he will lead one of the largest colleges on campus, comprised of two schools and 12 departments. His immediate priorities include developing strategies to elevate the student experience and broaden access to CLA curricula and courses, furthering opportunities to support, recruit and retain faculty, expand engagement with alumni and enhance professional leadership development for the faculty and staff.
He is a graduate of Truman State University and earned his master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Georgia.