The Office of the Provost at Colorado State University, in collaboration with the executive leadership of Semester at Sea, has named the academic deans for the Fall 2023 through Spring 2026 voyages.

CSU is the academic partner of Semester at Sea, a nearly 60-year-old multi-comparative study abroad program where students visit 10 or more countries across three continents each fall and spring semester.

The six current and former CSU faculty members and administrative leaders represent a wide range of disciplines with a combined total of more than 100 years of experience at CSU. They are:

• Jeff McCubbin, former dean of the College of Health and Human Sciences
• Bob Kling, former CSU Department of Economics chair and retired SAS chief academic officer
• Roze Hentschell, College of Liberal Arts senior associate dean and interim chief academic officer for the CSU System
• Fabiola Ehlers-Zavala, professor of English and president of the American Association for Applied Linguistics
• Kelly Long, associate professor emerita in the Department of History and former vice provost for undergraduate affairs
• Barry Braun, professor and chair of the Department of Health and Exercise Science and a fellow of the National Academy of Kinesiology

‘Significant impact’

Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Janice Nerger said students, faculty and staff who will be sailing side-by-side with these exceptional leaders in higher education serving in the role of at-sea chief academic officers are very fortunate.

“I know each of these individuals personally, and they all have had significant impact at CSU through their leadership, their passion for our educational mission and their focus on student success,” Nerger said. “When you have the caliber of experts like Jeff, Bob, Roze, Fabiola, Kelly and Barry who are committed to the Semester at Sea program, that makes a big statement, which speaks to the strong reputation of this one-of-a-kind study abroad opportunity.”

Mary Vogl, chief academic officer at Semester at Sea and one of the 11 former voyage academic deans from CSU, said this upcoming group of academic deans carries a wealth of experience teaching, researching, leading faculty and fostering academic excellence.

Culture of diversity, inclusion

“Each of them brings a passion for the international, comparative and experiential learning that is at the heart of Semester at Sea,” said Vogl. “They have distinguished themselves as champions for access to higher education for students from all backgrounds, and three of them were, themselves, first-generation students. I know they will all excel in creating on the ship a culture of diversity and inclusion that reflects CSU’s Principles of Community.”

The academic dean’s job is critical to the voyage’s success. Nearly two years before it starts, the dean begins selecting and preparing 25-30 professors, the advisor/registrar, librarian and the coordinator of Faculty-Led Programs. They help shape the academic curriculum, assuring its quality while encouraging innovation and relevance to the voyage itinerary. On the ship, their event-filled days include meeting with the Voyage Leadership Team; teaching a course; enjoying meals with students, “staculty” and Lifelong Learners; and hosting the Evening Seminar Series.

“I am extremely proud that the Semester at Sea-Colorado State University partnership is represented by six individuals of such high caliber,” Vogl said.

More information on each of the newly named SAS academic deans is below.

Academic deans for Fall 2023-Spring 2026

Jeff McCubbin is former dean of the College of Health and Human Sciences at CSU, where he served from 2011-2019. Prior to this role, he was a University Distinguished Professor of Exercise Science and executive associate dean in the College of Health and Human Sciences at Oregon State University. At OSU, he directed an internationally recognized graduate program in Movement Studies in Disability in the Department of Nutrition and Exercise Sciences and worked with international students from Finland, Germany, Korea, China, Singapore, Canada, Greece and Kuwait. His research and teaching interests have focused on the role of physical activity and exercise in improving functional skills and reducing secondary complications of disability.

Bob Kling recently retired from his roles as senior academic officer with Semester at Sea and associate professor with CSU’s Department of Economics. He previously sailed with SAS in 1998, 2017 and 2022. Kling is a microeconomist and environmental economist with a passion for international education and experiential travel. He has been a visiting faculty member at the University of Montpellier (France), Budapest University of Technology and Economics (Hungary), the University of Naples (Italy) and the Foreign Trade University (Vietnam). Kling’s research interests have focused on the economics of land management, the valuation of historic resources and regulatory strategy. He has earned CSU’s Cermak Advising Award, Liberal Arts Distinction in Outreach Award, International Programs Distinguished Service Award, Liberal Arts Outstanding Service Award and FTU’s Distinguished Service Medal.

Roze Hentschell is professor of English at CSU. She currently serves as the interim chief academic officer for CSU System and the senior associate dean for academic programs in the College of Liberal Arts. In CLA she oversees undergraduate and graduate program development, curriculum and engaged learning, including education abroad. Alongside partners in the Office of International Programs, she has developed and managed CLA academic programming at the CSU Todos Santos Center, Mexico. Additionally, Hentschell founded and acts as faculty lead for CSU’s Summer in Oxford program. In 2022, she completed a fellowship through the American Council on Education.

Fabiola Ehlers-Zavala is a professor of English at CSU and president of the American Association for Applied Linguistics (AAAL). Ehlers-Zavala has held a number of leadership roles, including executive director of CSU’s English Language Center INTO CSU, AAAL secretary, president of the Illinois TESOL/Bilingual Education Organization, chair of the TESOL International’s Bilingual Education Interest Section and chair of TESOL International’s Nominating Committee. She also serves on several international and national professional editorial boards and has published on the topic of teaching English learners with a focus on second language/bilingual reading, second language assessment and ESL/bilingual teacher preparation. She is passionate about international and global education. Ehlers-Zavala is a native of Chile.

Kelly Long is associate professor emerita and former vice provost for undergraduate affairs at CSU. As vice provost, she collaborated with individuals and groups across campus on matters involving curriculum, student success, advising, teaching and learning, diversity and inclusion, admission and access. In Spring 2023, she is the Global Studies Port Country Discovery expert on Semester at Sea, where she also teaches a liberal arts course on “Encountering the Global.”

Long joined the Department of History in 1998 and later served as associate dean for undergraduate studies in the College of Liberal Arts. She taught high school in the Poudre School District for many years and has been actively involved in pre- and in-service educator development and curricular design. Her research and publications involve U.S.-Asian relations, history education and the scholarship on teaching and learning.

Barry Braun is professor and chair in the Department of Health and Exercise Science at CSU. Braun also serves as the executive director of the Human Performance Clinical Research Lab, a fellow of the National Academy of Kinesiology and the American College of Sports Medicine, and is a past chairperson of its Nutrition Interest Group. He has published more than 110 peer-reviewed research articles but “is more proud of his awards for undergraduate teaching.”

Braun has served as head of the Department of Health and Exercise Science since 2014 and was recently recognized with the American Kinesiology Association’s Jerry R. Thomas Distinguished Leadership Award for his role in elevating the department in many areas.

Learn more about upcoming voyages and academic faculty on the Semester at Sea website.