Arts & Sciences Leadership

Dr. Margaret Watkins, professor of philosophy, joined Providence College as the dean of the School of Arts & Sciences in July of 2023. Dr. Watkins specializes in early modern ethics and aesthetics, with expertise on the 18^th-century Scottish philosopher David Hume. Before coming to the College, Watkins served as the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Seattle Pacific University from 2021-2023 and dean of the School of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences at St. Vincent College from 2018-2021. Watkins is president of the Hume Society and was the 2018 David Hume Fellow at the Institute for the Advanced Studies in the Humanities at the University of Edinburgh. 

Dr. Maureen Outlaw, associate professor of sociology and anthropology, was appointed associate dean for the School of Arts & Sciences in 2018. Her responsibilities within the office include overseeing matters of diversity/inclusion within Arts & Sciences, as well as course enrollment and faculty workload review. Dr. Outlaw is a member of both the Department of Sociology & Anthropology and the Women’s and Gender Studies Program. She served as chairperson of the Sociology Department for four years (2012-2016) and director of the Women’s Studies Program for two years (2010-2012). Her work examines the situational context of gendered and hate-based violence and how stratifying factors and motive impact contextual factors. Dr. Outlaw also currently works with the Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence (ISPN) in Providence on their data/evaluation team. She is the author of a digital textbook, Revealing Criminology, and several articles. She is currently working on a project exploring the experiences of folks in the LGBTQ+ population with the life-long process of ‘coming out’.

Denise Godin was appointed Associate Dean & Senior Director of School of Arts & Sciences Advising in 2022. Godin brings over 27 years of experience working in higher education – primarily academic advising, career education, and experiential learning. Godin formerly served as Senior Associate Dean of Undergraduate and Graduate Studies and Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies (2007-2022), where her primary emphasis was on managing the degree progress of seniors and graduate students, positively impacting the College’s overall graduation rate. Godin has also been Adjunct Faculty in the MED in Higher Education Program since 2016. In her former role as Assistant Director of Career Services/College Internship Coordinator, Godin instituted the College’s first standardized Learning Agreement for Academic Internships and Field Experiences and was the primary author to the College’s First Handbook for Academic Internships and Field Experiences.

Dr. Elisabeth Arévalo, associate professor of biology, was appointed interim associate dean for the School of Arts & Sciences in 2022. Her responsibilities within the office include reviewing and approving sabbatical applications, managing scholarly programs, interfacing with the SAS leadership team to advance programs in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and joining the Core Curriculum Administrative Team (CCAT), among other tasks. Dr. Arévalo has been a member of the Department of Biology for 24 years. She has served the College as the representative for the NSF RI-EPSCoR program for eight years, as well as the first Chair for the Animal Care and Use Committee and a member of the STEM Advisory Board as well as serving in several other college-wide committees.

Dr. Joan Branham​, professor of art history, has served nine years in the dean’s office, as associate dean of faculty development and curriculum since 2014 and as interim dean in 2022-23. She is President of PC’s Phi Beta Kappa Chapter – Gamma of Rhode Island and was a co-lead on the successful application for a Phi Beta Kappa chapter at PC. (See Dr. Branham’s installation remarks here.)  Previously, she was Chair of the​ Department of Art and Art History (2008-14) and Director of the Center for Teaching Excellence (2003-07). Dr. Branham continues to be active in her field, publishing on sacred space in late-antique Jewish and Christian art. She was invited by the Harvard Divinity School to be Acting Director of the Women’s Studies in Religion Program (2007-08), and since 2018 she has been Chair of the Board of the W.F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research in Jerusalem after fulfilling her leadership roles as the institute’s Vice President (2006-12) and Chair of Fellowships (2004-2017).