Dear Colleagues:

It is my great pleasure to announce that Dr. Kathryn Meier, a higher education management and business communications professional, has been named the Assistant Dean for Strategic Initiatives and Innovation, effective Feb. 1. This is the College’s first such position.

As part of my senior staff team, Dr. Meier will work closely with associate deans, department heads, communications staff, and other senior staff to find ways for us to extend the visibility of College programs and cultivate strategic partnerships. In this new, outward-facing role, she will guide the coordination of our activities to leverage them in the advancement of our research, education, and outreach missions, and create/implement strategic growth opportunities. She will be the convener of the College’s external focused staff, with the goal of expanding our marketing, recruitment, and corporate and alumni relations.
Kathryn Meier
Dr. Meier has 13 years of experience in marketing and communications roles with the University of Delaware, most recently serving as chief of staff in UD’s College of Arts and Sciences. There, she was involved in tasks as disparate as engaging external partners to creating high-profile events to negotiating processes of cultural change. She is an adjunct assistant professor, teaching undergraduate courses in the departments of business administration and English. She has a long record of mentoring and advising students. Earlier in her career, she served as a regulatory affairs associate with AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals. She volunteers her time as a hospice foster with Senior Dog Haven and Hospice of Wilmington, DE.

After beginning her undergraduate studies as a Henry King Stanford scholar at the University of Miami, Dr. Meier went on to earn her BA cum laude in English/Business and Technical Writing from the University of Delaware. She also holds an MBA with specialties in management and organizational effectiveness, and development, as well as a PhD in English with an emphasis in business communication, both from UD. Her dissertation on corporate storytelling and reputation management won the 2017 Association for Business Communication Award for Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation, which was presented in Dublin, Ireland.

I am thrilled to have Dr. Meier on board! Please join me in welcoming her to the College of Engineering. It’s going to be a very exciting year for all of us.

Sincerely,
Sharon L. Walker, PhD
Dean, College of Engineering
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