Fall 2022 Leadership Appointments

Dean Bonnie Thornton Dill announces new leadership appointments.

Dean Bonnie Thornton Dill is pleased to announce the following new leadership appointments within the College of Arts and Humanities (ARHU).

GerShun Avilez is serving as associate dean for diversity, equity, and inclusion, effective July 1, 2022.

Avilez is a professor in the Department of English. An award-winning teacher and writer, he is a scholar of African American and Black Diasporic literatures and visual cultures with a focus on gender and sexuality. He is the author of two books, “Radical Aesthetics and Modern Black Nationalism” (2016) and “Black Queer Freedom” (2020) and the co-editor of the “Norton Anthology of American Literature, 1945-Present” (2022). He has served as the director of graduate studies and the director of career development for English. He earned his doctorate in English with a certificate in Africana Studies from the University of Pennsylvania. 

Connie DiJohnson is serving as the lead director of the National Foreign Language Center (NFLC), effective July 1, 2022.

DiJohnson is the director of second language acquisition at NFLC, where she oversees a diverse team of linguists and second language acquisition specialists who develop language training courses, products and assessments. Before joining NFLC in 2008, she designed and taught language courses for professionals in public and private sector organizations as well as developed curricula for high school and community college language programs. DiJohnson began her career as a middle and high school teacher. She earned a Master of Education from the University of Maryland.

Terrence “Terry” Dwyer is serving as executive director of The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center (The Clarice), effective July 18, 2022. 

A longtime arts leader, Dwyer brings more than 30 years of experience in executive leadership, financial planning, high-level fundraising and programming at major arts presenting organizations, both regional and national, to The Clarice. Dwyer has served in leadership positions at prominent presenting and producing organizations from New York to San Diego. From 2006 to 2019, he was the president of the internationally acclaimed Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Orange County, California, a role he left with a strong legacy of artistic and educational excellence, collaboration, innovation and impactful community engagement. Dwyer has held the position of chief executive at La Jolla Playhouse, The Alley Theatre, Circle Repertory Company, Laura Dean Dancers & Musicians, the McCallum Theatre and the Kravis Center. Most recently, Dwyer was the consulting CEO for the Performing Arts Center-Eastside in Bellevue, Washington. He earned a master’s degree in directing for the theater from the University of Missouri and a Master of Fine Arts in theater administration from the Yale School of Drama. 

Ahmet T. Karamustafa is serving as chair of the Department of History, effective July 1, 2022.

Karamustafa is a professor of history. His expertise is in the social and intellectual history of medieval Sufism and Islamic piety. His publications include three monographs, including “God’s Unruly Friends and Sufism: The Formative Period.” He is currently working on a book project on everyday Muslim religious life in medieval Anatolia. Since joining the faculty at the University of Maryland in 2012, Karamustafa has served in various roles, including director of graduate studies in the department and the chair of the University Appointment, Promotion and Tenure (APT) Faculty Review Committee. He earned his doctorate in Islamic Studies from McGill University.

Taras W. Matla is serving as the director of the University of Maryland Art Gallery, effective July 1, 2022. 

Matla has more than 20 years of experience working in museums and the art world and previously served as the associate director of the Art Gallery. He oversees the gallery’s day-to-day operation and a permanent collection of nearly 5,000 works of art. Under his direction, the permanent collection has doubled in size, with a broader emphasis on artist diversity and cultural representation. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Matla instituted a highly regarded and critically acclaimed video art on demand program that allowed visitors to access and stream video art in their own homes. Prior to joining UMD in 2012, he held positions at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and The J. Paul Getty Trust. He earned a Master of Arts  in aesthetics and politics from the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts).

Trevor Parry-Giles is serving as associate dean for faculty affairs and research, effective July 1, 2022. 

Parry-Giles is a professor of communication and has taught communication at the University of Maryland since 1999. In ARHU, Parry-Giles has served on the Graduate Fellowships Committee for six years and has chaired and served on numerous selection and award committees for the Graduate School. He has served on seven faculty search committees and the search committee for the dean of the School of Journalism in 2011–12. He was also chair of the Department of Communication’s APT committee and Professional Track Faculty Promotion committee, and served on the ARHU APT committee.  He was most recently the associate dean for diversity, equity and inclusion. He was named a 2022 community fellow with the Humane Metrics in the Humanities and Social Sciences initiative. Parry-Giles earned a doctorate in communication from Indiana University.

Mary Ellen Scullen is serving as the director of the School of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures (SLLC), effective July 1, 2022.

Scullen is an associate professor in SLLC with research interests in French linguistics, instructed second language acquisition and technology-mediated innovations in language pedagogy. She served as associate director for Academic Affairs for three years as well as in a variety of additional SLLC administrative roles, including coordinator of Instruction and Professional Development, director of the Second Language Acquisition and Application Program, founding director of the Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning, and most recently head of the French and Italian department. She has published a monograph on French phonology and a number of articles and book chapters. Since 2002, she has co-authored several editions of two leading French textbooks. She earned a joint doctorate in French and theoretical linguistics from Indiana University.

Additional Leadership Announcements

Maura Keefe’s appointment has been extended as director of the School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies.

Gregory Miller’s appointment has been extended as director of the School of Music.

Brandon Morse’s appointment has been extended as chair of the Department of Art. 

Ruth Enid Zambrana’s appointment has been extended as the director of the Consortium on Race, Gender and Ethnicity. 

Please join Dean Thornton Dill in congratulating the new leaders in ARHU. She extends her thanks and appreciation to Linda Aldoory, who served as associate dean for faculty affairs and research for 1 year; Erica Bondarev Rapach, who served as acting executive director of The Clarice for 2.5 years; Kathy Kilday, who served as the lead director of the National Foreign Language Center for 1 year; Trevor Parry-Giles, who served as associate dean for diversity, equity, and inclusion for 6 months; Philip Soergel, who served as the chair of the Department of History for 10 years; and Juan Uriagereka, who served as the director of the School of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures for 1 year.