Daum Named Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Andreas Daum, professor of history in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University at Buffalo, has been appointed associate dean in UB's Office of the Vice Provost and Dean for Undergraduate Education.

In this new position, Daum will work on several initiatives that have been developed to enhance the educational experience of UB undergraduates, including the undergraduate academies in research exploration and civic engagement that were introduced this fall, and a new international academy that will begin in fall 2008.

Daum, who will serve as co-chair of the University Undergraduate Curriculum Committee, also will be responsible for revisiting and, where necessary, coordinating revisions and innovations in the university's general education program. He also will focus on how UB can further expand undergraduates' awareness of global issues and enrich their international experiences.

The "international" aspect of his new duties "signals a clear commitment on the part of UB to further internationalize undergraduate education and update our curricula," Daum says.

He points out that international perspectives must be infused into the university's curricula and programs beginning in the freshman year. "We won't start from scratch, though; many elements are already in place, such as study abroad programs. However, these elements can be better promoted, linked with each other and complemented by new ideas," he says.

Moreover, while UB has done an impressive job of bringing international students to study at the university, the university must give students with local or regional backgrounds more opportunities to learn about the world and study abroad, and significantly improve training in a wide range of languages and cultures.

"We want to help them acquire the curiosity, skills and knowledge necessary to gain competence as global citizens and face the challenges of an increasingly global world in whatever professional or academic fields they choose to work in after college," Daum says.

A UB faculty member since 2002, Daum's research and teaching interests lie in European, American and transnational history. His research deals with topics as diverse as the history of popular science, transatlantic relations, the Cold War, and urban culture.

He served as a member of the International Strategy Task Group that was charged with issuing recommendations to internationalize UB. Daum also was a member of the 2006-07 Faculty in Leadership class. His project for the program was a report on internationalizing undergraduate education.

A native of Germany, he received a bachelor's degree from the University of Cologne and master's and doctoral degrees from the University of Munich, where he taught as an assistant professor.

Before joining the UB faculty, he served as a John F. Kennedy Memorial Fellow at Harvard University and an associate research professor at the German Historical Institute in Washington, D.C.

He has published numerous articles and four books, the latest of which, "Kennedy in Berlin," will be published in its English translation by Cambridge University Press in December.

Daum is a resident of Buffalo.