Ivan Allen College Appoints New Interim Chairs

Posted July 5, 2021

The Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts recently appointed two veteran leaders as interim chairs for the School of Modern Languages and the School of History of Sociology.

David Shook, associate dean for undergraduate studies and associate professor of Spanish, has been appointed as interim chair of the School of Modern Languages, effective August 1, 2021. He will no longer serve as the associate dean for undergraduate studies effective July 31, 2021.

Shook will begin the new role as Anna Stenport leaves to become dean of the College of Liberal Arts at Rochester Institute of Technology. He is expected to serve as interim chair for two years until a new chair is hired.

“I am confident that David will serve the College well in this role. During his 30 years of dedicated service at Georgia Tech, he has a proven track record of providing exceptional service in several administrative roles,” said Kaye Husbands Fealing, dean of the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts. “I am sure he will continue the trajectory of success for the School of Modern Languages.”

Shook has served as associate dean for undergraduate studies since 2019. He has also served as associate chair, interim chair, and director of undergraduate studies in the School of Modern Languages.

His research focuses on language program development, teaching methodology, grammar acquisition through reading, and the use of literature for language acquisition.

“While I have learned and grown during my time as an associate dean for the Ivan Allen College, I am excited to return to my home school, Modern Languages, to serve again as interim chair in this time of transition,” Shook said. “I believe that my history and experience in numerous service capacities to the School will allow me to work successfully with the current faculty and staff as we progress to the next stage of our continuing development and new leadership for the future.”

Shook attended the University of Illinois, Urbana/Champaign, where he received a Ph.D. in Second Language Acquisition and Teacher Education. He earned a master’s degree in Spanish Linguistics from the University of Georgia, and a bachelor’s in Spanish and Management from Luther College.

Professor Hanchao Lu has been appointed interim chair of the School of History and Sociology, effective August 1, 2021. He replaces Eric Schatzberg who will continue as a tenured faculty member in the School. Lu is also expected to serve as interim chair for two years until a new chair is hired.

“Professor Lu has a long and distinguished career here at Georgia Tech,” said Dean Husbands Fealing.  “I look forward to working with him to advance the mission of the School of History and Sociology.”

Lu joined the Georgia Tech faculty in 1994. He is a specialist in the socioeconomic history of modern China, and has been published widely in leading journals in the fields of social history, urban history, modern and contemporary China, and Asian studies. His publications have been translated into Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Spanish. He has published eight books, three of which have won major book awards.  He has been a visiting fellow at prestigious research institutions, including the East Asian Institute of Singapore, the Radcliffe Institute at Harvard University, Tsing-hua University (Beijing), Humboldt University (Berlin), and Academia Sinica (Taiwan).

“It is a great honor to serve the School of History and Sociology in my new capacity as an interim chair,” Lu said. “I am confident that with the leadership of the dean and the support of our vibrant cohort of faculty and staff, the school will move toward a new high in academic excellence.”

Lu was the recipient of this year’s Ivan Allen Jr. Faculty Legacy Award. He received a Ph.D. in History from the University of California, Los Angeles. He has held a number of administrative roles on and off-campus, including currently serving as director of the China Research Center (Atlanta); chair of Georgia Tech’s Ivan Allen College Reappointment, Promotion, and Tenure Committee; and director of graduate studies for the School of History, Technology, and Society.

The College is expected to launch international searches for new chairs for the School of Modern Languages and the School of History and Sociology in academic year 2022-23.