UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Laura Rotunno was named the associate dean of academic affairs for Schreyer Honors College and will begin her new role on June 18. Rotunno succeeds Richard Stoller, who has been a member of the Schreyer staff since 1998. Stoller was most recently the interim associate dean for academics and will retire this summer.
Rotunno is coming to Schreyer Honors College from Penn State Altoona, where she has been a professor of English since 2003. Rotunno has served as the Schreyer Honors College campus coordinator since 2011and is also an honors adviser for all Penn State Altoona Honors students and Schreyer Scholars at Altoona.
“My work with honors students and the faculty working with these students has been one of the most fulfilling parts of my position at Penn State Altoona, so I am thrilled to be stepping into a role in which I can work with a larger population of students, faculty, and staff who collaborate to create so much intellectual vitality throughout Penn State,” Rotunno said.
Building connections with students is an important value to Rotunno, and in 2019, she won the Excellence in Advising Award from Schreyer Honors College, which recognized her commitment to helping Scholars achieve academic excellence. As an honors adviser, she helps students craft their schedules and confirms that they are meeting all the requirements of an honors student. In her role as campus honors coordinator, she ensures that students have sufficient honors courses, serves as a liaison with Schreyer Honors College staff, and creates enrichment opportunities for Scholars at Altoona. Additionally, Rotunno serves on the board of the Collaborative Education for Virtual Education (COVE), where she provides pedagogy consulting and advice to humanities researchers.
As associate dean for academic affairs, Rotunno will work with academic colleges, departments, and campuses to make sure that each Schreyer Scholar can complete their honors requirements, and that there are sufficient honors classes available. She will oversee academic enrichment opportunities for students such as the Distinguished Honors Faculty Program, Gong Days, and the Medals Ceremony. She will also supervise employees who are responsible for academic advising and global programming. Moreover, Rotunno will develop initiatives pertaining to civic discourse and service learning and will oversee the Presidential Leadership Academy alongside Patrick Mather, dean of Schreyer Honors College. Rotunno will also lead the work of the Faculty Advisory Committee and Commonwealth Campus Honors Consortium and organize the biannual Honors Advising and Teaching Conference.
Mather said that he is excited to welcome Rotunno to the Schreyer staff.
“Laura has been a valuable member of the Schreyer Honors College community already during her time as an honors coordinator,” said Mather. “Her commitment to building community and ensuring a great honors experience will help our Scholars continue to excel under her leadership.”
Rotunno received her bachelor’s degree in English and German with a concentration in philosophy from the University of Nebraska at Kearney. She then completed her master’s degree in English from the University of Missouri at Columbia and continued there to achieve her doctorate in English, specializing in Victorian literature and culture studies. She published "Postal Plots in British Fiction, 1840-1898" in 2013 with Palgrave and her "The New Woman in Fact and Fiction, 1880-1914" is forthcoming, also with Palgrave. She joined the English faculty at Penn State in Altoona in 2003 and has taught there since, highlights of that time include her 2014-15 Pennsylvania State University Teaching Fellow Award and her coordination of the Penn State Altoona Common Read program.