Professor Mary Vogl named as Semester at Sea chief academic officer

The Institute for Shipboard Education has named Associate Professor of French Mary Vogl as the new chief academic officer for Semester at Sea. She will begin in her new role on Aug. 15. Vogl will be replacing Associate Professor of Economics Bob Kling who is stepping down after five years as SAS senior academic officer.

As chief academic officer, Vogl will be responsible for leading ISE Academic Affairs in hiring voyage faculty and academic staff, developing robust approaches to assessment of learning, and continuing to drive the improvement of the overall academic quality of the Semester at Sea program. CSU has been the academic partner for Semester at Sea since 2016.

"I am delighted for this opportunity to champion and enhance the academic partnership between Semester at Sea and Colorado State University," Vogl said. "It is an honor to build on the work of previous SAS leaders and my current colleagues who strive continually to improve this academically rigorous program."

Vogl is the former chair of the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures where she is a faculty member, and she served as Academic Dean for Semester at Sea on the Fall 2018 voyage and as an Interport Lecturer in Fall 2016.

"Dr. Vogl will continue the tradition of academic excellence, experiential learning, and global citizenship that Semester at Sea is known for. We are excited to add her knowledge and passion to our team," said Scott Marshall, Semester at Sea Chief Executive Officer.

Vogl has taught at CSU for more than twenty years, and her research focuses on North African and French literatures, interarts studies, cinema, translation, and multilingualism. She has received grants from Fulbright, the American Institute for Maghrib Studies, and the U.S. Department of Education. She also received CSU's Pennock Distinguished Service Award. Vice Provost for Undergraduate Affairs Kelly Long said Vogl is an excellent choice for the SAS Chief Academic Officer given her experience with international education, curriculum, assessment and diversity, equity, inclusion and social justice, and her prior work with SAS.

"Her deep knowledge of academic affairs will help her in her aim to strengthen and develop the long-standing academic collaboration between SAS and Colorado State University," Long said. "She is service leadership focused and will provide wonderful guidance for SAS's academic enterprise."

Vogl said she is excited for what lies ahead and looks forward to fostering a faculty and curricula that are even more diverse, inclusive, innovative, and student-centered in a setting where a world of experience awaits students, faculty and staff from CSU and other universities who venture aboard.

"Semester at Sea is for students who seek not only an exhilarating multi-country trip but, more importantly, learning that is interdisciplinary, experiential, comparative and leads to a broader and deeper understanding of this vast planet and its myriad cultures and ecosystems," she said.

Colorado State University has been the academic partner for Semester at Sea (SAS) since 2016. The SAS global comparative experiential learning model follows an approach like CSU's which combines intellectual classroom pursuits with hands-on experience in the field and laboratory. All courses taught on Semester at Sea voyages are approved CSU courses listed in the CSU course catalog. SAS is open to students, faculty, and staff from all universities.

For an entire semester, college students take a full load of accredited courses on the SAS ship. They build community with fellow students, faculty, staff (and their families), and lifelong learners. They visit ten or more countries where they learn, explore, and interact with local people through field classes, programs, and independent travel. The program conducts two full voyages annually: one in the fall semester and one in the spring. Students from more than three hundred universities and thirty countries have participated in these life-altering Semester at Sea voyages.

Public link

Please use the above public link if you want to share this noodl on another website.