Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Higher education:

UNLV removes ‘interim’ from title, names new dean at Honors College

UNLV announced a new dean for its Honors College today.

Interim dean Marta Meana will permanently head the Honors College, according to a university announcement.

Meana has been a psychology professor at UNLV since 1997 and has served as interim dean of the Honors College since July 2012. The Honors College works collaboratively with UNLV’s academic colleges to challenge and educate 450 of the university’s top liberal arts and science students.

During her tenure as interim dean, Meana helped double the college’s enrollment and recruited its most talented freshman class - including dozens of high school valedictorians and six National Merit scholars.

This year’s incoming Honors College class has the highest average high school GPA of 3.9 and the highest average SAT score (1260 out of 1600 points) in UNLV’s history.

“The recruitment, education and grooming of the highest-achieving students in the (Las Vegas) Valley and behind, most of whom remain first-generation college students, is an exciting venture that changes lives, raises the standing of the entire campus and transforms our region,” Meana said in a statement. “I am thrilled to be a part of this effort.”

Meana is an award-winning researcher in women’s health and human sexuality and has published two books and more than 70 scholarly articles and book chapters. She has a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from McGill University and completed her post-doctoral research fellowship at the University of Toronto.

John Valery White, UNLV’s executive vice president and provost, said in a statement he looked forward to working with Meana to advance the Honors College.

“In her time as interim (dean), she has given us a glimpse of her outstanding leadership, organization and communication abilities, and how she can contribute to the Honors College’s continuing success,” White said.

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