Jackie Krasas, Ph.D., deputy provost for faculty affairs, professor of sociology and anthropology and women, gender, and sexuality studies and Lehigh alumna was announced today as the next dean of the College and the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at Wake Forest University, effective July 1, 2023.
“Assuming the Dean role at Wake Forest feels like a natural coalescence of the many areas of academic life that have been so important to me throughout my career,” Krasas said.
Krasas, a scholar of gender, race, work, and family, has contributed to the Lehigh community in a multitude of ways.
A lasting impact at Lehigh
Krasas joined Lehigh in 2005 after 10 years in the department of labor studies and industrial relations at Penn State University. From 2005-2014, she served as director of women, gender, and sexuality studies. She was co-PI and part of the leadership team for the NSF ADVANCE Institutional Transformation grant, “Building Community Beyond Academic Departments.” In 2014, she became the inaugural associate dean for interdisciplinary programs and international initiatives in the College of Arts and Sciences, where she worked with the directors of more than twenty interdisciplinary programs.
In 2020, Krasas assumed the role of deputy provost for faculty affairs and led several major initiatives including a set of pandemic impact supports, the transformation to a developmental approach for the triennial review system, a salary equity review, and the creation of the Provost Faculty Fellows Program. During her time as deputy provost, Lehigh joined the third cohort of the Aspire IChange Network, and became a partner in a multi-institutional effort funded by NSF to understand how biases enter into promotion and tenure systems including through the use of external letters or review.
Throughout 18 years at Lehigh, Krasas taught a variety of courses on topics ranging from introductory sociology and gender and sexuality studies seminars focused on social theory and workplace inequalities.
“I feel incredibly lucky to have spent so many years at Lehigh, taking on such varied roles and working with so many smart and inspiring students, staff, and faculty,” Krasas said. “Even as I move on to this opportunity at Wake Forest, I will always feel a special fondness for Lehigh and the relationships I have built here. “
Provost Nathan Urban said: "Jackie has been a great partner for me and critical to the operations of the Provost's office since I arrived in 2020. “Her work was crucial in completing the analysis of faculty salaries and in making the equity and peer group adjustments over the last year.
“She has also worked to make the promotion and tenure process more equitable, efficient and transparent,” he continued. “We should all be proud that Jackie, as a Lehigh alumna, faculty member and administrator was chosen to lead what is arguably Wake Forest's most important college. I am certain that given her talent and the things that she has learned from her Lehigh experiences, she will be highly successful in her new role. I hope that everyone at Lehigh will join me in congratulating Jackie and thanking her for her service."
