Dr. Johanna Miller Lewis, UALR professor of History, is the University’s new interim dean of the graduate school effective Oct. 10, Provost David O. Belcher announced Oct. 7.

“Johanna brings to this role strong experience as both a department chair and a graduate coordinator, and I look forward to working with her during this period of growth in graduate programs at UALR,” Belcher said.

Lewis came to UALR in 1991 and holds a Ph.D. from the College of William and Mary. She has served as the graduate coordinator for the public history program, which is designed to provide students with the ability to perform the research and writing of a traditional historian and the applied skills to work in a museum, archive, or cultural resource management setting.

She was instrumental in creating the Little Rock Central High School Museum, now a National Historical Park, and created the interactive exhibit, “Life Interrupted: The Japanese American Experience in World War II Arkansas.”