Dean's Office Directory
Dean, Associate Deans, & Assistant Dean
William G. Thomas III is the dean of the College of Letters and Science. Prior to joining Montana State University in 2025, he was the associate dean for research and graduate education in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where from 2005 to 2025 he held the Angle Chair in the Humanities and was a professor of history and a fellow of the Center for Digital Research in the Humanities. He served as chair of the University of Nebraska's history department from 2010 to 2016. Dr. Thomas specializes in U.S. history and among other honors has been named a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellow and a Lincoln Prize Finalist. He is the author of A Question of Freedom: The Families Who Challenged Slavery from the Nation's Founding to the Civil War, which received the 2021 Mark Lynton History Prize and the 2021 Society for Historians of the Early Republic Book Prize. Dr. Thomas co-founded and directed the Virginia Center for Digital History at the University of Virginia, where he was an assistant and associate professor of history, and a co-editor of the award-winning Valley of the Shadow: Two Communities in the American Civil War. His research has been supported with grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Science Foundation, the American Council of Learned Societies and the Mellon Foundation. In 2023, he was elected vice president of the American Historical Association, and in that role leads the research and scholarship division. Thomas is a graduate of Trinity College (Connecticut) and currently serves on the Trinity College Board of Trustees. He received his M.A. and Ph.D. in history from the University of Virginia.
Mary Alice Carlson
Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Education
Mary Alice Carlson serves as the Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Education in the College of Letters and Science and is a Professor of Mathematics Education in the Department of Mathematical Sciences. Her research centers equity-focused approaches to mathematics teacher professional development and on the teaching and learning of mathematical modeling in K-12 classrooms. Dr. Carlson’s work has been supported by several grants from the National Science Foundation,reflecting its national importance to mathematics education research. Her scholarship includes both research- and practitioner-focused pieces, including Becoming a Teacher of Mathematical Modeling published by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. Her efforts to build strong collaborations with teachers, students, and community leaders across Montana were recognized with the 2024 Provost’s Award for Exemplary Service and Fidelity to the Public Land Grant Mission of Montana State University. Dr. Carlson has served as the chair of the Graduate Program Committee in the Department of Mathematical Sciences and continues to contribute to undergraduate and graduate mathematics education through her teaching and scholarship. She received her M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Judi Haskins
Assistant Dean for Student Success and Outreach
Judi Haskins is a student success professional with more than 20 years’ experience at Montana State University. She has held student success roles at MSU in the Academic Advising Center, TRIO Student Support Services and GEAR UP, and in the Norm Asbjornson College of Engineering. She taught First Year Seminar for over 10 years, managed campus-wide initiatives such as the Sophomore Surge peer mentoring program, and served as a student success representative for the implementation of DegreeWorks and CatCourse. Haskins has presented at numerous regional and national conferences, including the Annual Conference on the First-Year Experience, the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA), and National High Impact Practices. She also served as a leader in NACADA as Regional Chair and annual conference chairperson. She also has served as a reviewer on NACADA’s “Foundations of Advising” training series and as a mentor with NACADA’s Emerging Leaders Program. Originally from Plains, Montana, she graduated with a B.S. in Psychology with a minor in Creative Writing and an M.S. in Counseling and Human Services, both from the University of Idaho. Prior to coming to MSU in 2004, Judi began her student success career at North Idaho College.
Staff
JaNaie' Finn
Director of Finance and Administration
Katie Sutich
Assistant to the Dean
