College of Arts and Sciences dean Caleb Everett has appointed three faculty members to new roles on the College’s leadership team. Chad Gasta, chair of the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures, will serve as associate dean for undergraduate academic affairs. Joel Rosenthal, chair of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, will serve as associate dean for research and graduate affairs. Dan Smith, former senior associate dean of social sciences, will serve as associate dean for faculty affairs.

“I am pleased to welcome the ADs to the CAS leadership team,” Everett said. “Their expertise, vision and dedication to our faculty and students will guide the growth and impact of the college on campus and beyond.”

The CAS leadership team also includes Senior Business Officer Lindsey Votto, Chief of Staff Katie Holden and Director of Finance and Planning Ashley Blumenauer.

Gasta joined the University in 2022 as chair and professor of Spanish. Prior to UD he served as professor and chair of the Department of World Languages and Cultures at Iowa State University, where he also served as director of International Studies and co-director of the Languages and Cultures for Professions (LCP) program. His research focuses on the intersection of arts and sciences and early modern Spanish and Latin American literature as well as on the impact of study abroad on student academic and career achievement. Over his career, Gasta has led large, multidisciplinary departments and has broad experience with curricular innovation, recruitment and retention initiatives, strategic enrollment management and student success

Rosenthal joined the University in 2010 and has served as professor and chair of Chemistry and Biochemistry since 2022. Prior to this appointment he also served as the department’s Associate Chair of Graduate Studies and Research. In his prior roles at UD, Rosenthal gained experience with graduate student training and curriculum design, stewardship of diverse extramural funding portfolios and an array of physical infrastructure and other institutional capacity building efforts. His research group’s work is focused in the areas of chemical catalysis and phototheranostics and has been supported by awards from NSF, DOE, NIH, DOD and several industrial partners. Rosenthal has also engaged with multiple interdisciplinary research initiatives and centers at UD and nationally, in advancing his own work and CAS’ research missions.

Smith, who joined the University in 2016, served as senior associate dean for the social sciences and as senior advisor to the dean on the budget under interim dean Debbie Hess Norris, working closely with other associate deans to maintain the College’s financial health. Prior to this appointment, Smith served as associate dean of the social sciences for four years. He is a professor in the Joseph R. Biden, Jr. School of Public Policy and Administration, where he was the associate director and director of the Master of Public Administration (MPA) program. He also has served as president of the College of Arts and Sciences Faculty Senate and as a member of the University Faculty Senate Budget Committee.

The appointments are effective Sept. 1, 2025.