Bridget Trogden will start as the dean of undergraduate education and academic student services on July 1, Provost and Chief Academic Officer Peter Starr announced in an email to the American University community Thursday.
Trogden, previously an associate dean and professor in the department of engineering at Clemson University, will supersede Dean Jessica Waters, who announced her departure from the position in October 2022. Waters will remain at AU as a full-time faculty member in the School of Public Affairs.
Trogden, who holds a PhD in chemistry from the University of Illinois, will also be a tenured professor in the School of Education.
In her time at Clemson University, Trogden oversaw efforts to implement a new curriculum with interdisciplinary and engaged learning to improve general education, according to the email.
“A strong believer in the value of a holistic undergraduate experience, Dean Trogden has played a key role in leading curricular innovations in general education at Clemson,” Starr wrote in the email.
Trogden also led STEM efforts at Clemson and is a principal investigator on multiple grant-funded initiatives in STEM education.
Before her time at Clemson, Trogden served as the director of Research that Reaches Out in the Office of the Provost at Mercer University. In this role, she “enhanced” retention rates and education through research that focused on local, national and global issues. Trogden also taught in Mercer University’s College of Liberal Arts, specializing in chemistry and the Honors Program.
In the email, Starr thanked Waters for her work on AU’s core curriculum, first year advising, student wellness and more. Waters began as dean of undergraduate education and vice provost for academic student services in 2016. She earned both her B.A. and J.D. from AU.
“I am deeply grateful to Jessica Waters for her extraordinary work as dean over the past seven years,” Starr wrote. “Throughout her tenure, she has been an instrumental part of the university’s efforts to enhance the student experience.”
This article was edited by Jordan Young and Abigail Pritchard. Copy editing done by Isabelle Kravis and Stella Guzik.
