Tosha Dupras, Senior Associate Dean of the University of Central Florida's College of Sciences, Begins Her New Role June 1.

Tosha Dupras has been named dean of Texas Tech University's College of Arts & Sciences, the university announced today (Jan. 7). She begins in the role June 1.

Dupras has served as senior associate dean of the University of Central Florida's College of Sciences since October and as a professor in the Department of Anthropology since 2015. She previously served as interim dean of the college and department chair. Dupras has been at the University of Central Florida since 1999. Prior to that, she spent one year as a visiting instructor at the University of Calgary.

“I am very excited and honored to be joining Texas Tech University and becoming part of the Red Raider family,” Dupras said. “I look forward to leading and working with the outstanding students, staff, faculty, alumni and supporters of the College of Arts & Sciences in continuing to foster the excellence and impact that Texas Tech is known for, through the inclusive education and empowerment of the diverse student body to develop our future global leaders, to continue building national and international research and creative prominence and forging strong community partnerships.”

A native of Canada, Dupras earned her bachelor's degree in archaeology from Simon Fraser University in 1993, master's degree in human biology from the University of Guelph in 1995 and her doctorate in anthropology from McMaster University in 1999. Her dissertation was nominated for the Canadian Distinguished Dissertation of the Year in 2000. 

Her primary research focus is the reconstruction of life history, particularly diet, migration, disease and growth and development, through the analysis of stable isotopes and paleopathology. Dupras has been a member and co-director of the bioarcheology team of the Dakhleh Oasis Project in Egypt since 1996 and has led the bioarchaeology research portion of the Sai Island Mission in Sudan since 2015. In addition, she and her students have been involved in stable isotope projects based in Lithuania, Hungary, France, Croatia, Jordan and the island of Flores in Southeast Asia.

“Dr. Dupras has experience with academically strong and diverse programs,” said Texas Tech Provost Ronald Hendrick. “She has the requisite skills and vision to help the College of Arts & Sciences grow its impact, and thereby, Texas Tech's impact. I believe Dr. Dupras has an ability to work within college and across campus to advance our goals as they relate to the success of our students, faculty and staff.”

While at the University of Central Florida, Dupras has been honored numerous times. In 2004, she received the College of Arts and Sciences Undergraduate Teaching Award, the University Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award and the Teaching Incentive Program Award for excellence in teaching. She earned the university's Research Incentive Award for excellence in research in 2005 and the College of Sciences Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award in 2008. In 2009, she received the College of Sciences Excellence in Graduate Teaching Award and the Teaching Incentive Program Award for excellence in teaching for a second time. In 2016, she was selected as a Women Making History Awardee by the executive board of the university's Center for Success of Women Faculty.

She served a four-year term as associate editor for the American Journal of Physical Anthropology and a three-year term as associate research scientist at the American Museum of Natural History. She has written and published three peer-reviewed books and has been active in professional service, including with the Canadian Association for Physical Anthropology, the American Association of Physical Anthropologists, the Paleopathology Association and the Archaeological Institute of America's Central Florida Society.

“I join with all my colleagues at Texas Tech in welcoming Dr. Dupras to Texas Tech,” said Texas Tech President Lawrence Schovanec. “As the largest college and one of the original colleges of our university, the College of Arts & Sciences has a rich history of contribution in the areas of education and scholarship. I look forward to the benefits of Dr. Dupras' leadership in the college and across the university.”

Dupras was one of four finalists in Texas Tech's search for a replacement for W. Brent Lindquist, who served as dean of the College of Arts & Sciences from July 2014 through August 2020. Brian Still, who has served as acting dean, will continue in his role until June 1.

About the College of Arts & Sciences 

Texas Tech's College of Arts & Sciences was founded in 1925 as one of the university's four original colleges. Today, Arts & Sciences is comprised of 15 departments, offering a wide variety of courses and programs in the humanities, social and behavioral sciences, mathematics, physical sciences, and natural sciences. In Fall 2021, the college enrolled more than 11,800 students representing nearly one-third of the overall Texas Tech student population while maintaining a 23:1 student-to-faculty ratio. 

The college offers students a diverse and forward-thinking portfolio of 42 bachelor's degree programs, 34 master's degrees and 14 doctoral programs, 21 of which are consistently nationally ranked. As a member of a Carnegie Tier One research institution, the college is also home to 12 research centers and institutes, such as The Institute of Environmental & Human Health (TIEHH), home to a Biological Threat Research Level-3 lab (BSL-3) that was the first in the state of Texas to begin coronavirus testing during the COVID-19 pandemic; as well as the Climate Center co-directed by internationally renowned scientist and Chief Scientist for the Nature Conservancy, Katharine Hayhoe.

Dr. Tosha Dupras.