Winona State University announces Dr. Rita Rahoi-Gilchrest has been appointed Associate Dean of the College of Liberal Arts, effective May 1, 2019.
“Dr. Rahoi-Gilchrest is a strong advocate of the liberal arts, and as a first-generation student herself, she knows firsthand the importance of a strong liberal arts education,” said Peter Miene, Dean of the College of Liberal Arts at WSU. “She is a strategic thinker and a willing collaborator who brings a can-do attitude to the Associate Dean position.”
Dr. Rahoi-Gilchrest has served as the Interim Associate Dean for the College of Liberal Arts at WSU since 2016. Prior to this appointment, she held the following positions and appointments in the WSU Communication Studies Department: Department Chair, Professor, Associate Professor, Internship Director, and Assistant Professor. Before coming to WSU, she held positions at the University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand, and at the University of Missouri–St. Louis.
Dr. Rahoi-Gilchrest earned her B.A. (Organizational Communication/Public Relations) from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and her M.A. (Communication Studies) and Ph.D. (Communication Studies) from Ohio University.
For more information, call the University Communications Office at 507-457-5024.
About the College of Liberal Arts
The Winona State University College of Liberal Arts is comprised of 13 departments: Art & Design, Communication Studies, English, Global Studies and World Languages, History and Legal Studies, Mass Communication, Music, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology and Criminal Justice, Theatre and Dance and Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies.
Liberal Arts students at Winona State are highly engaged in and committed to academics, arts and community in local, regional and global settings. Our faculty believe passionately in public dialogue, community outreach, meaningful scholarship and action learning to guide our students in this work.
Founded in 1858, Winona State University is a comprehensive, regional public university with approximately 8,000 students on campuses in Winona and Rochester. Around half of WSU students are first-generation, meaning neither parent has a four-year bachelor’s degree. The oldest member of the Minnesota State system, WSU offers more than 80 undergraduate, pre-professional, licensure, graduate and doctorate programs in five colleges: Business, Education, Liberal Arts, Nursing & Health Sciences, and Science & Engineering. Winona State is ranked as the second public institution in Minnesota by U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Colleges,” has been named among the “Best in the Midwest” by The Princeton Review for 15 years in a row, and has been featured as one of America’s 100 Best College Buys for quality and value for 23 consecutive years. The University generates $447.9 Million in economic impact for the region per year. The University’s mission is to enhance the intellectual, social, cultural and economic vitality of the people and communities we serve: a community of learners improving our world. For more information, visit winona.edu.
