Siân White, professor of English, came to JMU in 2009 after earning a Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame, an M.A. in English from Loyola Marymount University, and a B.A. in English with a minor in Spanish from UCLA. She specializes in British and Irish modernism, Irish Studies, and narrative theory, and co-edited The Edinburgh Companion to Irish Modernism (2021). Her research focuses primarily on intimacy, gender, and the politics of form in modernist and, more recently, contemporary women’s fiction. She cherishes opportunities to travel and has participated in or led study abroad programs in Spain, Ireland, and London. A native Californian, she enjoys writing, swimming, singing, drinking coffee, and spending time with her family and friends.

As associate dean, Siân provides oversight and leadership in the areas of faculty and staff affairs, college policy and governance, and space and resource planning. 

• Oversee and coordinate CAL hiring writ large 
  
  • Organizes and tracks CAL position numbers, vacancies 
  • Coordinates hiring requests and prepares them for Academic Resources  
  • Works as Dean’s office POC for all AUHs and Search Chairs  
  • Tracks progress of searches and contracts, offer letters, CVs, and M&R 
  • Tracks and assists with CAL MOUs  
  • Plans the CAL New Full-Time faculty orientation 
  • Offers programming to support and welcome new faculty  
• Provide leadership and oversight for faculty and staff affairs in the following areas, including but not limited to:
  
  • 1333, Phased Retirements, Emeritus  
  • Faculty Promotion Incentive program 
  • Compelling Case process 
  • Tenure and Promotion communication and collection of dossiers 
  • Supporting the CAL Faculty Council 
  • Supporting CAL Staff Advisory Council 
  • Assisting with faculty and staff concerns 
  • Tracking and filing all unit Initial Evaluations and Annual Evaluations 
• Coordinate the tracking and assessment of the CAL Strategic Plan 
• Assist with the preparation of the college annual report (STAR Tool) 
• Assist in the tracking and review of unit governance audits and APRs 
• CAL Dean’s office representative for Master Plan (space coordination)