Trisha Folds-Bennett has been named the new dean of the College of Charleston Honors College. Folds-Bennett will formally begin her term as dean on January 1, 2013. Until that time she will continue to serve as the associate dean of the Honors College while John Newell will remain as dean. She will also occupy a tenured faculty position in the Department of Psychology.
The selection of Folds-Bennett is the result of a thorough, nationally competitive search. Folds-Bennett has served as the associate dean and coordinator of the nationally competitive awards program for the Honors College since 2006. Since 2009 she also served as the director of the Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities program. She worked with Dean Newell in establishing the William Aiken Fellows Society, was engaged in a leadership role in development work and had a very significant impact on increasing the success of Honors College students in their pursuit of Fulbright Fellowships and other nationally competitive awards.
She received her undergraduate degree from Wake Forest University and her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. As a faculty member at the College of Charleston, Folds-Bennett received a Distinguished Advising Award and Innovations in Teaching Award.
