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Since 2024, President Dan Shipp has been serving as an interim dean for the CCOT and Chris Childers, previously the director of the School of History, Philosophy, and Social Sciences, has been serving as interim dean of the COAS.
Lisa Riedle has been chosen as the new dean of the CCOT; she will begin in July. Childers has been named the new dean of the COAS, removing the word “interim” from his title effective Feb. 16.
Since 2015, Riedle has been the department head and a professor of Applied Engineering & Technical Management at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls.
There, she oversees 10 undergraduate programs and one graduate program; recruiting, labs, faculty and staff; and three innovative centers: the Foundry 4.0 Center, the Metal Casting Center, and Panther Products – a partnership with the College of Education to create hands-on elements for pre-K through 3rd grade classrooms using a STEM grant.
During her time at UNI, she led strategic planning and the design and construction of a new academic building, established an advisory council and board, added four programs – Automation Engineering Technology, Materials Science & Engineering, Mechanical Engineering Technology, and Materials Science Engineering Technology; established a continuous improvement and assessment process; grew partnerships with community colleges for articulation agreements, and led the reaccreditation process.
From 1997 to 2014, she was a professor and served in a variety of leadership roles at the University of Wisconsin – Platteville, including program coordinator, associate dean, and acting dean.
With a BS in Mining Engineering from the University of Wisconsin, an MS in Civil Engineering from the University of Alabama, and a PhD in Interdisciplinary Mining and Civil Engineering from the University of Alabama, she also has had a variety of experiences in industry.
Riedle was a project engineer for the City of Madison, Wisconsin, where she evaluated the city’s 263 parks for safety, accessibility, and drainage; and was a project engineer for Foth & VanDyke, Inc., in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where she participated in construction projects for county landfills.
She also has worked as a hydrologist, draftsman, and a production assistant mining engineer, and has led numerous grants.
“We are thrilled that Dr. Riedle will be joining our leadership team in this role,” said Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Susan Bon. “She will bring exceptional leadership, a vision for innovation, and a passion for academic excellence. I have no doubt she’ll inspire our students, faculty, and staff, and be a valuable liaison to our industry partners.”
A Kansas native, Childers earned his BS and MS degrees at Emporia State University and his Ph.D. at Louisiana State University.
Childers joined the faculty as a lecturer in 2010, rising through the ranks as an associate professor and professor of history before being named coordinator of the history program in 2020. In 2022, he was named chair of the History, Social Science, and Philosophy Department, and in 2024, was named interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.
Previously, he taught at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, and at Crowder College in Neosho, Missouri.
Childers has authored three books about three eras in American history, as well as numerous peer-reviewed scholarly articles and book chapters.
Frequently asked to be a presenter and panelist at conferences, he is the recipient of numerous awards, fellowships, grants, and prizes, including having been chosen as a participant in the National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Seminar.
From 2019 to March 2021, he served as the president of the Kansas Association of Historians, has served as a committee leader for the PSU Faculty Senate, and as a member of the University Press of Kansas Editorial Committee, the University Strategic Planning Council, the Information Technology Council, the Gorilla Advising Council, the Secondary Education Coordinating Council, and is the faculty advisor for the PSU History Club and Phi Alpha Theta Honor Society.
In 2022, students selected him as the recipient of the Dr. Robert K. Ratzlaff Outstanding Faculty Award.
“We are fortunate to have an educator and leader like Dr. Childers on our campus,” Bon said. "He has demonstrated a deep commitment to our students, faculty, and staff, and is integral to our mission of making lives better through education. His energy and passion already have made an impact, and I have no doubt that will continue in immeasurable ways.”
