Randy Hanson is dean for the School of Business & Social Sciences. He began a five-year appointment in January 2024.

Hanson, who taught in the history and political studies program and holds the David H. Winton Endowed Teaching Chair, has been a member of the Colby-Sawyer faculty since 1996. A two-time winner of the Jack Jensen Award for Excellence in Teaching, the college’s highest teaching award, he holds a Bachelor of Arts from Washington University in St. Louis and a Master of Arts and Ph.D. from Indiana University, Bloomington. He received the New Hampshire Professor of the Year Award from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching in 2001.

As dean, Hanson will provide leadership to the School of Business & Social Sciences faculty, staff and students, developing and managing its human, physical and financial resources. Working closely with Academic Vice President and Dean of Faculty Eden Wales Freedman, he will be involved with strategic planning for the school, including new program development and program changes that align with the college’s strategic plan. Hanson will also lead efforts in accreditation, professional partnerships and community relationships to develop enhanced curricular opportunities, student internships and employment opportunities for graduates.

Hanson currently serves on the college’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee, the Campus Safety Advisory Committee and the Wesson Honors Advisory Group. In the past, among other leadership roles, he has served as chair of the Social Sciences and Education Department, coordinator of the college’s Liberal Education Program and chair of the Academic Policies Committee.

Hanson replaces Tom Kealy, who has served as dean for the School of Business & Social Sciences since the position’s inception in 2019. Kealy left the college in January 2023 to assume an academic leadership position at Clemson University.