Marjorie Hass Named President of Austin College
Marjorie Hass, Ph.D., has been named President of Austin College in Sherman, Texas.Saturday, November 8, 2008 11:22 AM
Hass has been the Provost of Muhlenberg College since March 2004.
Dr. Hass, also a professor of philosophy, served as interim vice president of academic affairs and interim dean of faculty between July 1, 2003-February 1, 2004 until being appointed as Muhlenberg's first provost. She has been on the faculty at Muhlenberg College since 1993.
Founded in 1849, Austin College is a private, coeducational, liberal arts institution affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). The College's 70-acre campus is located in Sherman, Texas, north of the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex. The College has 1320 undergraduate students and it was the first college in the state of Texas to grant a graduate degree. Dr. Hass will become the 15th President of Austin College and replace Dr. Oscar C. Page, who has served since 1994. Hass begins her presidency July 1, 2009
"There's no question that Austin College has hit a home-run with this appointment," said Muhlenberg College President Dr. Peyton R. Helm. "Margie is a woman of parts: a brilliant and accomplished scholar, a gifted administrator and problem-solver, and a visionary leader. She has a knack for putting people at ease and for motivating them to act. She understands and respects the work of the faculty and enjoys the company of students. Most important, she is a woman of courage and integrity - who knows what's right and doesn't hesitate to do it. We are going to miss Margie here at Muhlenberg, where she has accomplished so much, but she is going to be a great president for Austin College."
In her capacity as Provost, Hass managed all fiscal and personnel aspects of the academic program, overseeing 18 academic department heads. The Provost also oversees the deans of academic life, international programs, and the Wescoe School; the registrar's office, the Institute for Jewish-Christian Understanding, the Martin Art Gallery, the Entrepreneurship Institute, the Center for Ethics and the RJ Fellowship Program.
"As testament to its increasing national stature," said Robert M. Johnson, chair of the Austin College Board of Trustees, "Austin College attracted a strong field of outstanding candidates for its leadership position. The selection of Dr. Hass is affirmation of our confidence that she is a rising star ideally suited to define and realize what we know will be a continued bright future for the College."
Hass earned her Bachelor of Arts, Master of Arts in philosophy, and Doctor of Philosophy degrees at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She was named assistant professor of philosophy at Muhlenberg in 1993. Since that time she has received a Creative Teaching Grant from the Faculty Center for Teaching, five Faculty Summer Research Grants, the Paul C. Empie Memorial Award for Distinguished Teaching, and the Donald B. Hoffman Research Fellowship. She was the director of the Muhlenberg College Center for Ethics, 2000-2003, and served as a faculty observer to the Board of Trustees in 2001-2002. She has served on the Faculty Personnel and Policies Committee, the Budget Advisory Committee and the Academic Policies Committee.
A member of the philosophy faculty, Hass specializes in philosophy of logic, philosophy of language and feminist philosophy. She is the author of numerous published articles and co-editor of a book, "Representing Reason: Feminist Theory and Formal Logic," with Rachel Joffe Falmagne, published by Rowman and Littlefield Press in 2002.
Hass' family includes her husband, Dr. Lawrence Hass, currently a professor of philosophy and theatre arts, and director of the Theory and Art of Magic program at Muhlenberg; a son, Cameron, a sophomore at Muhlenberg; and a daughter, Jessica.
