Welcome, Dean Stenport!

The University of Georgia and the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences today welcomes Anna Westerstahl Stenport as the 17^th dean of UGA's oldest and largest college.

Dr. Stenport, a professor of communication and an expert in transnational cinema and media, modern literature and drama, and visual and cultural studies, with a focus on the Arctic and Nordic regions, joined the UGA faculty as the University of Georgia Athletic Association Professor in Communication Studies in the department of communication studies in April and assumes the role of dean of Franklin College on June 1, 2023.

Her deanship of UGA’s Franklin College represents a homecoming of sorts. With a scholarship from the Georgia Rotary Student Program, Stenport, a native of Sweden, spent her first year of college as an international student at UGA.

“When I came to the United States as an international student, no one in my family had studied or lived abroad. Exposure to Georgia’s rich history and culture within the context of an arts and sciences curriculum helped me understand the positive, transformational impact of public higher education in the U.S. and beyond. I am eager to give back to this extraordinary environment,” said Stenport.

Following a year of study at the University of Georgia, Stenport earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Uppsala University in Sweden. She holds a Ph.D. in comparative literature from the University of California, Berkeley.

“I am very impressed by Franklin College’s focus on holistic and experiential learning, its generation of purposeful new knowledge with real world applications, and its ambitious commitment to diverse perspectives and global reach,” said Stenport. “I look forward to advancing Franklin’s trajectory of exceptional excellence and the success of students, faculty, staff and alumni through partnership and collaboration.”

Please join us in welcoming Dean Stenport into the Franklin College family!

Image: Franklin College Dean Anna Stenport (photo by Jason Thrasher).