With over 30 majors, ranging from the social sciences to fine arts to biological sciences, the College of Arts & Sciences (CAS) is perhaps the most diverse school at Chatham University. Dr. Joseph MacNeil, the dean of the CAS, agrees. Serving as the dean of the CAS since October 2024, the fall 2026 semester will mark the start of his third year in this role.
As he reflected on his time at Chatham thus far, he expressed his delight to welcome the class of 2030 in the upcoming semester. This incoming class is an exciting one for Chatham, according to MacNeil. In light of a successful recruiting year, Chatham is on track to start growing again.
“We have more resources to reinvest in students and the things we do institution-wide,” MacNeil said. He explained this not only brings more resources and financial benefits to students, but improves the overall community on campus through vibrant student populations.
Originally hailing from Nova Scotia, Canada, MacNeil completed his undergraduate and graduate studies in inorganic chemistry, earning a doctorate from Queen’s University in 1993. He spent four years at the University of California San Diego completing a post-doctoral fellowship before joining Chatham as an inorganic chemistry professor to substitute for one on sabbatical. Within two years, he had taught some 14 new preps, hopping around the chemistry department and teaching classes as needed. In 2003, he earned tenure, and is one of the only remaining professors hired under tenure instead of a renewable contract.
As such, he refers to himself as “the youngest dinosaur on campus.”
After nearly 30 years at Chatham, he believes his time here has prepared him well for this role.
“Being a dean is a job with a lot of facets, you can’t be an expert in everything,” MacNeil said. Nonetheless, he understands the community very well.
“I’m deeply committed to the students and faculty,” he said, referring to the people as “the core of [his] job.” He also emphasized that he has received invaluable support from his team, being able to seek the expertise of others to inform his decisions and best serve the CAS.
Describing the college as diverse, energetic and inviting, he shared that his role overseeing the CAS has influenced his outlook on the higher educational experience.
“It has opened my eyes to the full breadth of student experiences on campus,” he said.
Ultimately, he sees students’ experiences at Chatham and the CAS as a vessel for both education and personal growth.
“It’s really important to me that students recognize a place like Chatham exists for their benefit. Everything we do is to support them,” MacNeil said.
Seeing his role as a means to elevate the student experience, he admires that Chatham has a rather unconventional approach to aim for consistent improvement – with administrators such as himself looking to understand what’s working, what’s not and what they can do to improve the student experience and value.
“We are constantly reassessing what we do here,” he said.
Hanging proudly in his office in the Laughlin Music Center, Chatham’s mission statement reads, ‘Chatham University prepares students to lead lives of purpose, meaning and fulfilling work.’ MacNeil pointed out the importance of this commitment to serve as the foundation for the goals that faculty and staff have for the good of the students and greater Chatham community.
He highlighted how much the student experience at Chatham, particularly outside of education, influences student growth as people, not just as careerists.
“If students embrace Chatham’s mission as their own, we will have succeeded,” MacNeil said.