Montgomery Named New Dean at Wheaton

Laura Montgomery, who has taught anthropology at Westmont since 1990, is the new associate dean of global and experiential learning at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Ill., Montgomery co-developed Westmont in Mexico, a semester-long academic program in Querétaro, serving as its resident director in 2005 and 2007. She will direct the program in fall 2011 before heading to Wheaton.

At Wheaton, Montgomery will establish and lead the Center for Global and Experiential Learning. “We wish Laura the best as she leaves for Wheaton,” says President Gayle D. Beebe. “In many respects, this is an exciting opportunity for her as she returns to her alma mater and helps them build a global education program influenced by her unique outlook and approach. She has played an indispensable role in crafting our own philosophy of global education and will be sorely missed. We wish her every success.”

Last May, she was one of five Westmont professors who contributed to “Transformations at the Edge of the World: Forming Global Christians through the Study Abroad Experience,” a book that explores what colleges and universities are doing to form globally engaged Christians through cultural immersion experiences.

“We celebrate Dr. Montgomery’s exciting new appointment at Wheaton even while we mourn her departure from Westmont,” says Rick Pointer, Westmont acting provost. “Laura has made enormous contributions to Westmont’s excellence over the past two decades.”

Montgomery earned a bachelor’s degree at Wheaton before completing a master’s degree and a doctorate at Michigan State University. From 1984-87 she worked at Wheaton as assistant director of the Human Needs and Global Resources Program and as assistant professor of sociology/anthropology. Her areas of expertise include the cultural anthropology of Mexico and Central America, cross-cultural communication studies, international development and gender studies.