Catharine O’Connell

​Catharine O’Connell is provost and dean of the college at Illinois College. She previously served as vice president for academic affairs and dean of the college at Mary Baldwin College, provost and vice president for academic affairs at Defiance College, dean for academic affairs at Cabrini College, and chair of the English department at St. John Fisher College. Her scholarly work focuses on 19th-century American literature and issues in contemporary higher education. O’Connell has been a frequent presenter at regional and national meetings on such topics as global learning and citizenship, community-based research, outcomes assessment, and faculty-student learning communities.