KEARNEY – Janet Eckerson has been named interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Nebraska at Kearney.
Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Julie Shaffer announced the appointment Wednesday, pending approval from the University of Nebraska Board of Regents. Eckerson would assume the role June 1, replacing current Dean Paul Twigg, who’s leaving UNK after the current academic year to become provost and vice president for academic affairs at Murray State University.
Eckerson currently serves as associate dean in the College of Arts and Sciences and as graduate program chair for the master’s program in Spanish education. An associate professor of modern languages, she teaches undergraduate Spanish courses for both traditional and heritage language learners, as well as graduate courses in language pedagogy and curriculum development.
She earned her doctorate in education from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and has more than 20 years of secondary and higher education teaching experience in Nebraska and Florida. Her research focuses on language teaching methods, heritage language pedagogy, curriculum development, teacher professional learning and educational policy impacting Latinx students.
Eckerson has led and collaborated on numerous funded projects, and her work on language education and student success has been published and presented nationally.
She previously served as president of the Nebraska International Language Association and Nebraska Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese.