Meet the Dean
Gesine Gerhard, PhD
Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences
A highly respected academic leader, scholar, and educator, Dr. Gerhard brings more than two decades of experience in higher education, including eight years as Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Drake University. Throughout her career, she has demonstrated a deep commitment to liberal arts education, interdisciplinary collaboration, student success, faculty excellence, and mission-driven leadership.
As Saint Mary’s launches its unified School of Arts & Sciences—bringing together the natural sciences, social sciences, arts, and humanities in one academic home—Dr. Gerhard’s experience and vision make her exceptionally well suited to help guide this important next chapter in the College’s academic evolution.
At Drake University, Dr. Gerhard served as chief academic officer for the institution’s largest academic unit, overseeing more than 40 academic programs and approximately 140 faculty members across the humanities, fine arts, social sciences, and natural sciences. She led strategic initiatives focused on academic innovation, interdisciplinary programming, experiential learning, faculty development, student retention, and enrollment growth, while also managing a complex budget and advancing successful fundraising efforts in support of faculty, facilities, and student opportunity.
Among her accomplishments, Dr. Gerhard helped develop interdisciplinary programs in areas such as artificial intelligence and zoo and conservation science, while continuing to champion the enduring value of a broad-based liberal arts education grounded in critical thinking, ethical reasoning, creativity, and effective communication. Colleagues consistently describe her leadership style as collaborative, thoughtful, and transparent, with a strong commitment to shared governance and community-building.
Prior to her leadership at Drake, Dr. Gerhard served in several academic leadership roles at University of the Pacific, including Associate Dean of the College of the Pacific and Director of General Education. In those roles, she helped lead university-wide curricular reform, first-year experience initiatives, faculty development efforts, and programs designed to strengthen student success and belonging.
Dr. Gerhard is also an accomplished scholar of modern European and German history whose research has focused on World War II, the Holocaust, food politics, and social history. She has published extensively, presented internationally, and remained actively engaged in teaching throughout her administrative career.
Equally important, Dr. Gerhard’s leadership philosophy resonates strongly with Saint Mary’s Lasallian, Catholic mission and commitment to whole-person education. Throughout the search process, she demonstrated a thoughtful understanding of both the opportunities and responsibilities associated with launching a unified School of Arts & Sciences at this important moment in the College’s history.