M. Dustin Knepp, PhD

Dean, College of Liberal and Applied Arts

In the College of Liberal and Applied Arts, we prepare students for real life situations by teaching them to think, question, challenge, research and engage with others. In this way, graduates will be prepared not just with skills necessary for one specific job, but for a lifetime of continued learning and success.

What drew you to the higher education world?

The value of education was often discussed while I was growing up, though no one in my family had ever graduated from college. My parents married as teenagers, and my mom dropped out of high school at age 15. By the time I was a child many years later, she decided to get her GED and eventually started attending college. After years of part-time studies, my mother graduated with a degree in education and started teaching adult learners shortly before I finished high school. Her example of perseverance, hard work, and service to others led me to pursue a career where I could also serve others. Being a professor has allowed me to work to help others meet their potential while also improving conditions for the communities in which I have lived.

What do you enjoy most about your role at SFA?

I enjoy getting to work with amazing faculty, staff, and students. SFA is a place where people come to flourish, and I am grateful to play a small part in helping provide that environment.

What do you hope students gain from SFA?

I hope students take advantage of the opportunities provided them to study interesting topics, engage with deep thinkers, embrace new experiences, and open themselves to new friends. I especially hope that students will learn to view life through the lens of others. As they learn to do that, they will be better leaders, teachers, employees, employers, neighbors and community members.

What are you passionate about outside of your role at SFA?

I am most passionate about my family. As a father of five children, my “hobbies” are spending time supporting them in their interests. That means I am passionate about high school football, woodworking, drawing, choir, hunting, fishing, horseback riding, gymnastics, cheer, and a host of other time-consuming activities that allow me to support my children in their pursuits.

Education and Experience

Academic Experience

Dean and Professor, College of Liberal and Applied Arts
Stephen F. Austin State University (2022 – Present)

Chair and Professor, Department of Modern Languages and Literatures
California State University, Bakersfield (2021 – 2022)

Chair, Department Chairs Leadership Council
California State University, Bakersfield (2020 – 2022)

Co-Director, Center for Social Justice
California State University, Bakersfield (2017 – 2022)

Chair and Associate Professor, Department of Modern Languages and Literatures
California State University, Bakersfield (2016 – 2021)

Director, Interdisciplinary Studies
California State University, Bakersfield (2015 – 2019)

Graduate Coordinator, Spanish MA
California State University, Bakersfield (2015 – 2018)

Interim Chair and Associate Professor, Department of Modern Languages and Literatures
California State University, Bakersfield (2015 – 2016)

Program Director, Latin American and Latino Studies Minor
University of Central Arkansas (2012 – 2015)

Assistant Professor, Department of World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures
University of Central Arkansas (2011 – 2015)

Adjunct Professor, Languages Department
St. Edward’s University (Austin, TX) (2011)

Visiting Lecturer, Latin American, Caribbean, and U.S. Latino Studies Department
University at Albany, State University of New York (2010 – 2011)

Teaching Assistant, Latin American, Caribbean, and U.S. Latino Studies Department
University at Albany, State University of New York (2008 – 2010)

Teaching Assistant, Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures
University at Albany, State University of New York (2007 – 2008)

Graduate Assistant, Latin American, Caribbean, and U.S. Latino Studies Department
University at Albany, State University of New York (2006 – 2007)

Teaching Assistant, Department of Modern Languages and Literatures
The University of Texas at San Antonio (2005 – 2006)

Education

Doctor of Spanish – Latin American, Caribbean, and U.S. Latino Cultural Studies
University at Albany, State University of New York (2010)

Graduate Coursework in Guatemala, Kaqchikel (Maya) Language and Culture
Tulane University (2007)

Master of Arts in Spanish – Hispanic Cultures
The University of Texas at San Antonio (2006)

Bachelor of Arts in Spanish, Cum Laude
Angelo State University (2002)

Undergraduate Coursework in Mexico, Spanish
Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey – Chihuahua, México (2001)

Awards / Achievements

National Endowment for the Humanities
External Scholar – Galveston College (2018)
Grant Recipient, Humanities Initiatives: HSIs – Co-Director, Crossing Borders, Making Connections: The Humanities and Ethnic Studies (2016-2017)
Reviewer – Humanities Connections (2016)

Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Funded Scholarly Monograph Initiative (2011)

American Studies Association of Texas Conference, Best Paper Award (2010)

United States Department of Education Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship (2007)