Kathryn Seidel

Professor of English, College of Arts & Humanities 2014 Womens History Month

What is your current job title and responsibilities (please make sure we know your College, Department, etc.)?
Professor, Department of English

What is your history at UCF? (past job titles, responsibilities)
Dean, College of Arts and Humanities
–First Dean of the College, responsible for budget, hiring, promotion and tenure, and curriculum

Dean, College of Arts and Sciences
–Dean’s Curriculum Initiative program in Diversity, Technology, Interdisciplinarity.
— Endowed professorships and chairs in Biology, History, Modern Languages, and Visual Arts.
–New programs including doctoral and masters degrees in science, social science, and the arts.

Assistant Dean, Associate Dean College of Arts and Sciences
— Curriculum, personnel
–One of the founders of the Women’s Studies Program

What is your favorite UCF memory?
I was stranded on the infamous Colbourn Hall elevator, six months pregnant, and jumped into Wyatt Wyatt’s arms.

If you could change one thing at UCF, what would it be? ($ and time no object)
Involve and provide scholarships for students to participate in study abroad.

What is one piece of advice you would like to share with your colleagues?
If you don’t run, you can’t win.

What is your favorite restaurant or food?
Indian food.  Current favorite restaurant—Barcelona Tapas in Cocoa Beach

If UCF was going to name something in your honor, what would you like it to be and why?
A scholarship for the best honors thesis in the humanities. The transition of students from UCF as they leave UCF can be costly.  The honor of this scholarship too might help them be more competitive in getting into graduate school. While there are many opportunities for students in other areas to be placed on grants and the like, humanities students need more access to these types of honors.

 If you could have lunch with anyone at UCF (who you do not normally eat lunch with), who would you choose and why?
Jose Fernandez or Michael Johnson.  I used to work with them.

Who at UCF would you like to thank for your success?
Gary Whitehouse,  Allyn Stearman, Joyce Lilie, and Jose Fernandez.

Name and describe a teacher or researcher from your past who truly inspired you and why.
Lewis Lawson, my dissertation advisor, helped me to realize that women writers did not receive the attention they deserved.

What undergraduate or graduate class/program/experience inspired you the most and why?
I loved the Hebrew Bible class. It opened my eyes to the differences between faith and history. It also led me to understand how a text can be read, and then interpreted.  That was one reason I became a scholar of literature.

Contact Us

Linda Walters, Director of the UCF Center for Success of Women Faculty
Linda.Walters@ucf.edu

Phone: 407-823-1113

Mailing Address
Center for Success of Women Faculty
University of Central Florida
P.O. Box 160955
Orlando, FL 32816-0955

Physical Address
4365 Andromeda Loop N
Millican Hall, Suite 351
Orlando, FL 32816-1997

Internal Mail (UCF)
Center for Success of Women Faculty
MH 351
32816-0065