Dean Kathy Sloan
Kathryn A. Sloan of Fayetteville, Arkansas, is the interim dean of the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Arkansas. Sloan became interim dean in 2022 after serving as a professor of history since 2004 and administrator since 2009.
As interim dean, Sloan represents and provides strategic vision and leadership for the largest college at the University of Arkansas, which consists of more than 8,200 students, three schools and 16 academic departments, provides the majority of the university’s core curriculum, and offers degrees in the fine arts, humanities, natural sciences and social sciences.
During her past 20 years with the college and university, Sloan has served as a professor of history and has held leadership roles as Director of Graduate Studies, Associate Chair, and Chair in the Department of History; Associate Dean for Humanities in Fulbright College; Director of the Arkansas Humanities Center; Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs; and Interim Vice Provost for Academic Affairs.
As an accomplished teacher, researcher, and historian, Sloan’s research focuses on gender and cultural history in Mexican history. She is the author of three books on Latin American history, including Death and the City: Suicide and the Social Imaginary in Modern Mexico, Women’s Roles in Latin America and the Caribbean, and Runaway Daughters: Seduction, Elopement, and Honor in Nineteenth-Century Mexico.
Sloan is also the author of numerous articles on Latin America and has taught undergraduate and graduate courses ranging from “Modern Latin America” to “Environmental History of Latin America” to “Latin American History through Film.”
In addition to her impressive research and teaching record, Sloan has also been recognized for her contributions as the inaugural director of the Arkansas Humanities Center, in which she assembled a cross-campus team to start “Arkansas Stories of Place and Belonging,” an innovative public scholarship and engagement series funded by a Chancellor's Innovation & Collaboration Grant that has brought together scholar-experts, students and the general public to engage in informed conversations about the region's history of human interaction.
As the university’s Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs and Interim Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, Sloan was responsible for advancing the strategic recruitment, retention, evaluation, and professional development of university faculty and worked with faculty concerning grievances and complaints. Under her leadership, the Office of Faculty Affairs implemented a suite of faculty development programming, including peer mentoring circles, the Bridge program, and a workshop series on mentoring graduate students and postdocs.
Moreover, Sloan’s service to academia and Latin American history extends globally. She serves as a reviewer for the U.S. Department of Education’s Fulbright and area studies fellowships and as treasurer for the Rocky Mountain Council on Latin American Studies.
Sloan holds her bachelor's degree in psychology from Kansas State University and master's degrees in business administration and Latin American studies and a doctorate in Latin American history from the University of Kansas.