Since 2022, Tamara L. Falicov has served as the inaugural Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences. Dean Falicov comes to UMKC from the University of Kansas, where she was associate dean for research in the Arts and Humanities for five years and a professor in the Department of Film and Media Studies and the Center of Latin American and Caribbean Studies for 24 years. During her previous tenure, Falicov heavily participated in faculty development opportunities by writing grants, fundraising for faculty research, and co-founding two faculty organizations, the Faculty Administrative Writing Seminar and the Women Faculty and Allies Leadership Network. She is passionate about facilitating interdisciplinary research, especially between arts and humanities and health and environmental sciences. She also organized and ran the dean’s cabinet for diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, which included faculty, staff, and students. During the COVID pandemic she co-founded HHARC, the Health Humanities and Arts Research Collaborative between humanities and medical schools, community health organizations, and students. Her work in these realms continues today.
As dean at UMKC, Falicov has worked with faculty to develop a scaffolded internship program for undergraduate students with the help of a five-year grant from the Mellon Foundation. She has emphasized the need for applied humanities and social sciences opportunities for students, particularly the infusion of career development content into course curricula across the school. Dean Falicov has worked closely with the alumni association to strengthen ties with our vibrant community of SHSS alumni. Faculty are encouraged to invite alumni to their courses to spark students’ interest in various careers. Other enhancements to the student experience include expanded opportunities for community-engaged research and creative scholarship, the development of a study-away program that was initiated by students, and the addition of a course to the Media, Art and Design curriculum that prepares students to earn a micro-credential as an Adobe Certified Professional.
Falicov is involved in the international studies space and has written grants to create linkages in environmental economics, urban agriculture, and earth and environmental sciences between US and Latin American universities. A native Spanish speaker, her intentions are to facilitate cultural and academic mobility for both faculty and students. She serves on the boards of the Kansas City International Relations Council, the KC Farm School, Cristo Rey High School, and a2ru, a national interdisciplinary arts research alliance. Falicov has participated in a leadership development program at the International Council for Arts Deans and the Kansas Leadership Institute’s Your Leadership Edge. She has been a Fulbright Specialist in Portugal and a graduate student Fulbright Scholar to Argentina; has won multiple research grants; has trained young filmmakers in Guatemala, Honduras, and Colombia; and is the author of two books: Latin American Film Industries and The Cinematic Tango: Contemporary Argentine Film, with a co-edited book forthcoming.
Falicov 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.