St. Lawrence University President William L. Fox ’75 announced today that Karl Schonberg will serve as the University’s next Vice President and Dean of Academic Affairs, effective July 1, 2016.
Schonberg, a professor of government who has been with St. Lawrence for 16 years and currently serves as the associate dean for St. Lawrence’s Center for International and Intercultural Studies, will replace Valerie Lehr, who will return to the St. Lawrence faculty in 2016 after nine years as Vice President and Dean of Academic Affairs.
“Through a deliberative and inclusive process that allowed Laurentians to appreciate the strength and wisdom of the St. Lawrence faculty, Karl can assume his new role knowing he has the support of his colleagues and trustees,” Fox said. “His perspectives, with his experience in teaching and administration, affirm our confidence in his leadership.”
The 2012 recipient of the J. Calvin Keene award, Schonberg joined St. Lawrence’s Department of Government as an assistant professor in 1999. He was promoted to associate professor in 2004 and professor in 2009. Schonberg has taught a number of courses, including Introduction to International Relations, Contemporary U.S. Foreign Policy, International Law, International Security, International Organization, Theoretical Perspectives on 20th Century U.S. Foreign Relations, and Globalization and Identity within the First-Year Program. He is also the author of two books, Constructing 21st Century U.S. Foreign Policy: Identity, Ideology, and America’s World Role in a New Era (Palgrave Macmillan, 2009) and Pursuing the National Interest: Moments of Transition in Twentieth-Century American Foreign Policy (Praeger, 2003).
Since July 2010, Schonberg has served as the associate dean of international and intercultural studies, supervising 25 off-campus programs, student research, financial aid funding and on-campus intercultural programming. From 2008 to 2010, he served as associate dean of Faculty Affairs, supporting faculty and student initiatives throughout campus.
Schonberg graduated from Colgate University with a dual concentration in political science and English. He earned a master’s degree in foreign affairs and a Ph.D. in international politics from the University of Virginia. He also attended the Higher Education Management Development Program at Harvard University Graduate School of Education in 2013.
Lehr, a professor of government and gender and sexuality studies, will return the St. Lawrence faculty and spend the 2016-17 academic year as director of the University’s abroad program in London.
“I have valued greatly Val’s leadership, wisdom, energy, and loyalty to St. Lawrence in the six years we have worked together,” Fox said.
