KENNESAW, Ga. | Mar 10, 2023

Kennesaw State University has recently welcomed new deans to lead three of its colleges – Katie Kaukinen in the Norman J. Radow College of Humanities and Social Sciences; Karen Kornweibel in the KSU Journey Honors College and Juliet Langman in the Graduate College. Each are accomplished scholars and leaders who come to KSU ready to help the University achieve its goals. 

Here they provide insight into the vision they have for their respective colleges.

Katie Kaukinen, Radow College

What are your goals for the College?

Three big buckets capture our longer-term goals: Enhancing services, support, and curricula that prepare undergraduates for life after KSU; growing and diversifying graduate programs by expanding our research mission and connecting graduate programs to rewarding careers; and finally, strengthening our relationships with external partners. 

In the short term our college will develop signature academic programs for our undergraduates that facilitate student recruitment and retention. Our focus is specifically on improving our first-year retention and graduation rates. We are launching programs to address career readiness, skills-building for a rapidly changing digital society, and creating opportunities to engage in research for all of our students. 

I would like to add that it is incumbent upon us in the Radow College to be ambassadors for the liberal arts. This is a short-term, long-term, and daily goal for us. 

What’s new in the College that you’re excited to share?

Professions with Purpose is a forum for career exploration where students and leaders examine career paths that emerge from studying the humanities and social sciences. Select leaders from a range of fields become KSU scholars in residence for a day and share their professional insights. 

RCHSS Year of Learning and Service is an initiative that brings students, faculty, and staff together to reflect on a contemporary relevant issue facing our community. The academic year 2022-2023 theme for the Year of Learning and Service is housing insecurity and the experience of being unhoused. Throughout this school year, faculty, students, and staff will engage with this serious issue facing our society to learn more and contribute to solutions.

What have you found that you like most so far in being part of the Kennesaw State family?

I am not sure that I have had such a fully supportive set of leaders as I’ve found at KSU. I am also appreciative of Mr. Norman Radow. He is not only a supporter of the College, but he is an amazing sounding board for ideas. 

Karen Kornweibel, KSU Journey Honors College

What are your goals for the College?

My overall goal for the Keeping Sights Upward (KSU) Journey Honors College is to build on its strong foundation and collaborate across the university and with community partners to support excellence in undergraduate education at Kennesaw State University. 

My initial priorities include: Partnering with all academic colleges to expand honors opportunities for students; building the culture, structures, and support to increase honors student participation in experiential learning opportunities and high impact practices (study abroad, internships, undergraduate research and creative activity, honors capstones, and community-based projects); partnering across KSU to enhance recruitment of diverse, highly motivated, and academically talented students. We also need to leverage endowed scholarships more effectively to that end. My long-term goal is for honors to function as a strong recruitment arm of the University; building up the infrastructure for national and international scholarship and fellowship advising to increase the capacity and tradition of students applying for these awards.

What's new in the College that you're excited to share?

In January, the College relocated to the Academic Learning Center in the heart of the Kennesaw Campus. This fall, the Doug and Robin Shore Honors Student Lounge in the ALC—as well as our Marietta lounge—have seen significant use by our students. 

Over the course of the year, an expanded advising team has been hired and trained to help support students in maximizing their honors experience. We have also linked honors advising to university advising to ensure that we are supporting larger campus initiatives.

The college continues to grow. We have 1,676 Honors Scholars. And, the honors application is now part of the Common App, so every student who applies to KSU will be automatically invited to apply to the KSU Journey Honors College.

What have you found that you like most so far in being part of the Kennesaw State family?

I have received an incredibly warm reception into the KSU family. Everyone I have met at every level has been welcoming, open, and willing to help.

Juliet Langman, Graduate College

What are your goals for the College?

In the short term, my goals are to understand current program academic offerings, explore new potential programs that meet labor needs, and seek improvements in the processes associated with recruitment, admission, and graduation of graduate students.

Longer term, I want to partner with academic colleges to stay innovative and relevant in graduate program offerings, increase enrollment in all programs, including through the growth of strong pipeline programs from within KSU’s student body and beyond to our partner Georgia institutions of higher education. I want to work with academic colleges to develop new programs that will position students for jobs of the future and build a strong student success-oriented culture in graduate education here.

What's new in the College that you're excited to share?

I’m excited about the team that I work with, the collaborative spirit that we are building in the College as well as across colleges with graduate program coordinators. I am also excited about the expansion of our recruitment efforts in Georgia and beyond.

What have you found that you like most so far in being part of the Kennesaw State family?

The fact that KSU feels like a family. While there are challenges and there is work to do, the staff, faculty and students are by and large interested in supporting student success in large and small ways. I have found those I’ve interacted with generous with their time, insightful in their advice, and willing to explore change.

– By Gary Tanner
Photos by Jason Getz, David Caselli, Judith Pishnery

A leader in innovative teaching and learning, Kennesaw State University offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees to its more than 45,000 students. Kennesaw State is a member of the University System of Georgia with 11 academic colleges. The university’s vibrant campus culture, diverse population, strong global ties and entrepreneurial spirit draw students from throughout the country and the world. Kennesaw State is a Carnegie-designated doctoral research institution (R2), placing it among an elite group of only 7 percent of U.S. colleges and universities with an R1 or R2 status. For more information, visit kennesaw.edu.