UNCSA names interim dean of Liberal Arts

UNCSA has appointed Krystyna Puć as interim dean of the Division of Liberal Arts (DLA), effective July 1, Chancellor Brian Cole announced.

Puć, who retired in December after more than two decades on the History & Humanities college faculty, will succeed Dean Rachel Williams, who is stepping down from her post to become dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts at Radford University in Virginia on July 10. Williams’ last day at UNCSA is June 30.

“I’m so pleased that Krys has graciously agreed to come out of retirement to lead the division that she has spent much of her professional life involved with,” Chancellor Cole said. “I am confident that she will make an excellent interim dean as she continues to go above and beyond to serve UNCSA remarkably well as she has in the past.”

Krystyna Puc

An associate professor of history, Puć joined the DLA faculty in 2003. From 2011-20, she served as assistant dean of the division, and from 2012-21, she served as coordinator of the division’s for-credit online summer program. Her academic service at UNCSA includes the Educational Policies Committee, including vice chair and interim chair; Provost Council; Peer Evaluation Committee; DLA Rank Evaluation Committee; and many more.

Before joining UNCSA, she served as adjunct faculty at George Mason University and The Catholic University of America; division historian for The Maryland-National Capital Park & Planning Commission; acting executive director for an Ohio museum village site; an independent research historian for public history projects; and consulting historian for an engineering company.

Puć received her Ph.D. in American civilization from The George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and her B.S. in political science from Northeastern University in Boston.

UNCSA will soon commence a national search for a permanent dean for the division, Cole said.

About the Division of Liberal Arts

Central to UNCSA’s ideal of conservatory training is the concept that the traditional liberal arts are necessary for a student’s growth as an artist. The Division of Liberal Arts is responsible for delivering the general education college program at UNCSA, with a focus on enriching students’ artistic education.

Marrying the academic and the creative, the division’s curriculum has been designed to contribute to the cultural and intellectual development of each arts student, enabling them to participate effectively as responsible citizens in the world in which they will live and work.

The division offers courses in composition, foreign languages (French, German and Italian), history, humanities, literature, mathematics, media studies, philosophy, psychology, science, writing, and more. It comprises more than a dozen full-time faculty members who offer a variety of courses in styles ranging from traditional lectures and seminars to project- and studio-based courses intended to inspire curiosity about the world.

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February 25, 2026