Dean's Office
Meet the Deans
Dean Elizabeth Spiller
College Dean
Dean Elizabeth Spiller
Dr. Elizabeth Spiller has been serving as Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences since July 9, 2024. She has more than 10 years of experience as an academic leader, having served most recently as the executive vice chancellor and chief academic officer at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
As dean, her role encompasses a wide range of responsibilities, from guiding the recruitment, development and retention of faculty and staff, to advancing the college’s research and teaching programs, as well as fostering strong relationships with the college’s alumni, friends, donors and advisory councils. In addition, Dr. Spiller works closely within the university on interdisciplinary programs, joint faculty appointments, strategic academic initiatives and advancing student success.
Dr. Spiller is experienced in boosting student access and success while managing multi-site academic programs at high-impact research institutions, facilitating interdisciplinary research partnerships and undertaking successful fundraising initiatives across the arts and sciences. As a distinguished scholar of English, her work intersects the disciplines of literature, history and science, reflecting her diverse academic interests and expertise.
Before her tenure at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Dr. Spiller spent three years as dean of the College of Letters and Science at the University of California, Davis, which like USF, is a member of the prestigious AAU. Spiller has also held leadership positions at Virginia Tech and Florida State University. She earned her bachelor’s degree in English literature from Amherst College and both her master's degree and doctorate in English and American language and literature from Harvard University.
The Dean's Role
The dean is the chief academic and administrative officer of a college. The dean advances the mission of the college by setting administrative and academic priorities, and by working with schools and departments to help them fulfill their respective academic missions. The dean also represents the college in its relationship with the central university administration and to external audiences.
Dean Thomas Smith, PhD
Campus Dean, St.Petersburg campus
Thomas W. Smith is Professor of Political Science and Acting Campus Dean of the College
of Arts and Sciences at the University of South Florida’s St. Petersburg campus. He holds
a B.A. in Anthropology from the College of William & Mary and an M.A. and Ph.D. in
Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia. He has taught at USF since 2000.
From 1997-2000 Dr. Smith was an assistant professor of International Relations at
Koç University in Istanbul. During the summer of 1999 he was a visiting scholar at
the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Harvard University. He spent the 2007-2008
academic year at Stanford University.
Dr. Smith has published widely in the fields of human rights, international humanitarian
law, and Turkish politics. His second book, Human Rights and War Through Civilian Eyes, was published by the University of Pennsylvania Press. His current research focuses
on the destruction of Kurdish cities in Southeastern Turkey and on the impact of Neo-Ottomanism
on human rights in Turkey.
DEAN PAUL KIRCHMAN, PHD
Campus Dean, Sarasota-Manatee campus
Dr. Kirchman is the campus dean of the College of Arts & Sciences at USF Sarasota-Manatee campus. Prior to his appointment at University of South Florida, he was a founding member of Florida Atlantic University’s Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College and for 10 years served as the Chair of Science and Mathematics.
In his 17 years of experience, he helped build the Wilkes Honors College to more than 400 students, initiated a combined BA/MD program with Florida Atlantic University’s Schmidt College of Medicine, and launched several internship programs at hospitals and research centers along the East Coast, including the Scripps Florida Research Institute and Max Planck Florida Institute.
His research interests include aging, mitochondrial metabolism, and cross-kingdom symbiosis.
Dr. Kirchman received his PhD in Molecular Biology from Emory University and his BS in Biology from Eckerd College.