Colorado State University – Pueblo announces finalists for CHASS Dean position

Pueblo-  Three individuals have been selected as finalists for the dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHASS) at Colorado State University-Pueblo.

The following three candidates will interview at a variety of campus forums from March 31-April 4 for the position of Dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences: Dr. Charles J. Brody, Professor and Chair of Sociology, University of North Carolina-Charlotte; Dr. Jeffrey R. Breese, Associate Dean of the School of Education and Human Services at Marymount University, Arlington, VA; and Dr. Roy Sonnema, interim dean, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, CSU-Pueblo.

The candidates will interview on campus on the following dates: Charles Brody, March 31; Jeffrey Breese, April 2, and Roy Sonnema, April 4. Interview schedules and copies of the candidates’ vitae will be available for viewing at www.colostate-pueblo.edu/chasssearch. Open forum sessions for the public will be offered at 9:45 a.m. on each of the dates in the Occhiato University Center Cottonwood Room.

The CHASS dean provides leadership and administration to the faculty, staff, and students in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. The dean fosters excellence in teaching, research and service to the campus and community for advancing the mission and goals of the College, the University, and the CSU System, and for participating in outreach efforts throughout the community. The College offers majors in 12 disciplines (art, history, English, liberal studies, mass communications, music, political science, psychology, social work, sociology, and Spanish), along with minors in 20 disciplines. In addition, the College is responsible for university-wide general education courses in composition, arts & humanities, history, and social sciences.

Dean of the School of Education and Human Services at Marymount University since August 2005, Breese also served as an associate professor in the Department of Government, History, and Sociology at the University of Tampa from 2003-2005 and as a faculty member in the Department of Sociology at Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, Ind., from 1994-2005. In 2006, he earned the Alex Boros Award for Contributions to the Association for Applied and Clinical Sociology (AACS), presented annually by the organization to a member who has served the field of applied sociology with distinction and dedication. Breese earned a bachelor’s degree from Youngstown State University, a master’s degree from Ohio University, and a doctoral degree (all in sociology) from the University of Akron.

Brody has served as a professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte since 2001 and as chair since 2007. He was a member of the sociology faculty at Tulane University from 1986 through 2001, including one year as department chair and also was on the sociology faculty at the University of South Carolina from 1981-1986. As a Fellow of the American Council on Education in 2005-06 at Towson University, he led projects pertaining to outreach and community and corporate partnerships and other areas of leadership
and administration in higher education. Brody has served as associate editor of Social Science Research since 1999. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Loyola University of the South, a master’s degree from the University of New Orleans, and a doctoral degree from the University of Arizona, all in sociology.

Sonnema has served as interim dean of CHASS since July 2007, when then CHASS Dean Russ Meyer resigned to accept the position of Provost and Chief Academic Officer at the University.
He joined the CSU-Pueblo faculty in 2000 as chair of the art department. From 2003-05, he was elected to serve two, one-year terms as faculty representative to the governing board of the Colorado State University System. Prior to that, he spent 11 years as an associate professor of art history at Georgia Southern University. Sonnema earned a bachelor’s degree from Calvin College (MI), a master’s degree from California State University, Fullerton, and a doctoral degree in the history of art from the University of California, Berkeley.


Colorado State University - Pueblo is a regional, comprehensive university emphasizing professional, career-oriented, and applied programs. Displaying excellence in teaching, celebrating diversity, and engaging in service and outreach, CSU-Pueblo is distinguished by access, opportunity, and the overall quality of services provided to its students.