Dr. Heidi L. Bostic, chair of the Department of Modern Languages and Cultures in the Baylor University College of Arts & Sciences, has been named the new Dean of the College of Liberal Arts at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, N.H., succeeding retiring dean Kenneth Fuld.

Bostic, who joined the Baylor faculty in 2009, will assume her new duties at UNH on June 27, 2016.

“Serving as chair of modern languages and cultures at Baylor has been a distinct honor and privilege. My colleagues are among the hardest-working, most dedicated people I’ve ever known. And it’s been such a joy to work with Baylor students,” Bostic said. “Colleagues across campus and within Arts & Sciences have been extremely supportive of the various projects and initiatives we’ve undertaken in MLC. I especially want to thank Dean Lee Nordt and Divisional Dean Robyn Driskell for their leadership.”

Bostic earned a BA in French from the University of Nebraska Omaha. She went on to earn MA and PhD degrees in foreign languages and literature from Purdue University, as well as a DEA degree from the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences in Paris, France, in 2000.

Before coming to Baylor University, Bostic held faculty positions at Minnesota State University Moorhead, Concordia College and Michigan Technological University. She has served as chair of the Department of Modern Languages and Cultures at Baylor since 2009, and became the inaugural director of interdisciplinary programs in the Baylor College of Arts & Sciences in 2015.

The Texas Foreign Language Association gave Bostic its Higher Education Administrator of the Year award for 2015. She also received a Fulbright Scholar Award for Lecturing and Research from the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs in 2004, as well as a national Teaching Competition Award and the Theodore E.D. Braun Research Travel Award from the American Society for Eighteenth Century Studies.

“Heidi Bostic has provided critical leadership for the Department of Modern Languages and Cultures, one of the largest departments in the Baylor College of Arts & Sciences, for nearly seven years,” said Dr. Lee C. Nordt, dean of the College of Arts & Sciences. “I recently appointed her as Director of Interdisciplinary Programs for Arts & Sciences and she chairs the provost’s diversity task force, to name a couple of other leadership roles she currently plays. She will be sorely missed, but the opportunity for her to serve as dean of a large academic unit at the University of New Hampshire is well deserved.”

“Dr. Bostic has been a terrific leader and role model. Her contributions to the University and her department are significant and immeasurable. Her experiences include both specific research in her field and broad, interdisciplinary leadership with various groups and committees,” said Dr. Robyn L. Driskell, divisional dean for humanities and social sciences in the College of Arts & Sciences. “I am excited for Heidi as she takes this next step, but very sad for us at Baylor as we will sincerely miss her leadership. She will be a brilliant dean and make a tremendous impact at New Hampshire.”

The College of Liberal Arts is the largest of the five colleges at the University of New Hampshire, serving 4,000 undergraduate students in 39 majors and 600 graduate students in six PhD and 25 master’s programs. The college has 215 tenured and tenure track faculty and 125 full-time non-tenure track faculty across 15 departments and 20 interdisciplinary programs, in four divisions — humanities, social and behavioral sciences, education, and the fine and performing arts. The college also includes six research centers.

“Heidi is a very talented scholar and leader, and has great experience fostering relationships between the humanities and the STEM disciplines,” said P.T. Vasudevan, UNH interim provost and vice president for academic affairs. “Her no-nonsense approach and leadership experience will serve the college and the university well and help us to develop the strategic partnerships we need to expand career opportunities for students, and to enhance the college’s teaching and research portfolios.”