Emily Ruth Rutter
Following a national search, Emily Ruth Rutter—an experienced faculty member, administrator, and scholar—has been selected to serve as the dean of the IUP College of Arts, Humanities, Media, and Public Affairs.
Rutter will begin her work at IUP on June 29.
Curt Scheib, who began work at IUP as dean of the College of Fine Arts in July 2019 and currently serves as dean of the College of Arts, Humanities, Media, and Public Affairs, will be retiring from his work at IUP on June 5. Assistant Dean of the College of Arts, Humanities, Media, and Public Affairs David Ferguson will serve as acting dean of the college upon Scheib’s retirement until Rutter begins her work as dean.
“Dr. Rutter has extensive experience in the classroom and in academic administration and is a nationally respected author and scholar,” IUP Provost and Vice President for Academic Administration Lara Luetkehans said. “She shares IUP’s commitment to student success, and I feel confident that she will be an excellent fit for this important role.
“I want to thank Dr. Ferguson for his willingness to take on the role of acting dean, and I also want to recognize Dr. Scheib. His service to the university and to the college has been extraordinarily impactful, and we wish him every success as he prepares for his next chapter.
“I extend my appreciation to the search committee, led by Drs. Amber Racchini and Edel Reilly, for its diligence and hard work that resulted in identifying excellent candidates for the dean’s position. I also thank everyone who made time to be part of the search process and provide important feedback, especially during a very busy time in the semester.”
Rutter comes to IUP from her work as associate dean for academic affairs for Bloomfield College of Montclair State University, where she is also professor of English.
Before joining the leadership team at Montclair State University, Rutter served as associate dean of the Honors College, professor of English, and assistant director of African American Studies at Ball State University. Prior to her work at Ball State University, she was a visiting assistant professor of African American literature and culture at Oberlin College and was a graduate instructor at Duquesne University.
“I am thrilled to join the IUP community and to serve as the new dean of the College of Arts, Humanities, Media, and Public Affairs, a college that resonates profoundly with my academic background and passions,” Rutter said.
“I am eager to begin collaborating with the outstanding faculty, administrators, staff, and students within CAHMPA and across IUP’s campus, and I look forward to all that we will achieve together.”
As an administrator, she has worked collaboratively to renovate general education and honors curricula to promote high-impact learning and career readiness. She has also partnered with faculty on innovative undergraduate certificates, interdisciplinary studies programs, and degree completion programs tailored to adult learners. She has led successful initiatives focused on faculty professional development, community engagement, recruitment and retention, inclusive excellence, and alumni mentoring, among other endeavors.
Rutter is also a prolific scholar and has published dozens of peer-reviewed articles and four single-authored books, most recently Black Celebrity: Contemporary Representations of Postbellum Athletes and Artists (Rutgers/University of Delaware Press, 2021) and White Lies and Allies in Contemporary Black Media (Routledge, 2024).
She is coeditor of Revisiting the Elegy in the Black Lives Matter Era (Routledge, 2020) and Black Saturation: Selected Works of Stephen E. Henderson (University Press of Mississippi, 2025). She is currently coauthoring a book under contract with Duke University Press that highlights the world-building significance of contemporary African American poetry. Her essays have appeared in African American Review, MELUS, The Langston Hughes Review, and Tulsa Studies in Women’s Literature, among many other journals and edited collections.
She has received numerous awards and grants, including from the National Endowment for the Humanities. She has also been an invited presenter and lecturer on topics ranging from “Leveraging Student Voice and Effecting Positive Change” to “Invisible Ball of Dreams: Literary Representations of Baseball Behind the Color Line.”
IUP’s College of Arts, Humanities, Media, and Public Affairs includes the departments of Art and Design; Communications Media; Criminology and Criminal Justice; History, Philosophy, Political Science, and Religious Studies; Language, Literature, and Writing; and Music, Theatre, and Dance.
Since its founding in 1875, IUP has evolved from a teacher-training institution into a doctoral research university recognized for its commitment to student success and achievement. IUP’s Impact 150 comprehensive campaign is designed to honor a legacy of educational excellence while looking toward a future of innovation, public service, and leadership in healthcare education, including the first college of osteopathic medicine at a public university in the Commonwealth.