Tamara L. Falicov is the inaugural dean of the UMKC School of Humanities and Social Sciences. Dean Falicov comes to UMKC from the University of Kansas, where she was an associate dean in Arts, Humanities and Area Studies in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and a professor in the Department of Film and Media Studies and the Center of Latin American and Caribbean Studies. Falicov is the author of two books: Latin American Film Industries and The Cinematic Tango: Contemporary Argentine Film, with a co-edited book forthcoming. Her research interests have ranged from Latin American film studies and film festival research to assisting medical researchers in understanding language and culture in the treatment of Latinx patients and families. She earned her Ph.D. in Communication from the University of California, San Diego. She lives in Kansas City with her husband, Stephen Steigman, and their three children.