Umd Names Susan J. Dwyer Executive Director Of The Honors College

Having held various leadership positions at UMD, Dr. Dwyer will now oversee all aspects of the Honors College.

COLLEGE PARK, Md. – The University of Maryland has appointed Dr. Susan J. Dwyer as Executive Director of the Honors College. In her new role as Executive Director, Dr. Dwyer oversees all aspects of the Honors College, including establishing expectations for intellectual engagement, overseeing curricular and co-curricular activities, working with a faculty advisory committee, and maintaining regular communication with Honors students.

"I am delighted to welcome Professor Susan Dwyer, who brings vision, passion, and experience to this position,” says William A. Cohen, associate provost and dean for Undergraduate Studies. “It will be exciting to witness her intellectual leadership of the Honors College, which promises to grow even stronger as a magnet for extraordinarily gifted and ambitious students at the University of Maryland."

Dr. Dwyer joined the faculty at UMD in 2009 as associate professor of philosophy, and she holds an affiliate appointment in the Women’s Studies department. She has held various leadership positions in the Department of Philosophy and the College of Arts and Humanities, including chair of the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee; chair of the Committee on Programs, Courses, and Curricula; and director of Undergraduate Studies. Prior to joining UMD, Dr. Dwyer was associate professor and chair of philosophy at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, where she served for three years as a member of the Honors College Advisory Board. Dr. Dwyer has also taught at McGill University and at the United States Naval Academy.

She specializes in areas of moral philosophy, constitutional law, and feminist theory.  She is an internationally recognized expert on moral psychology, known, in particular, for her measured approach to research at the intersection of the cognitive and brain sciences and philosophical treatments of moral judgment. She is also well regarded for her work on three major applied ethics issues: problematic speech and free speech, abortion, and national reconciliation after great injustice.

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