Dean of Liberal & Fine Arts

Greg Mellas

Academic Affairs, Liberal and Fine Arts

Greg Mellas is a distinguished academic and nationally recognized leader in civic and community engagement in higher education, with over 25 years of experience advancing equity, access, and public service through institutional partnerships and experiential learning. He serves as the Dean of Liberal and Fine Arts, providing executive leadership for a division encompassing 80 faculty members across 20 academic disciplines. In this role, Dr. Mellas oversees academic program development, faculty hiring and evaluation, transfer and articulation agreements, and strategic collaborations with industry and community partners. He is a champion of community-engaged teaching and learning and an advocate for the public purposes of higher education.   Prior to becoming dean, Dr. Mellas served as the Director of the Institute for Community Engagement and Scholarship and senior outreach and engagement officer at Metropolitan State University. There, he led institution-wide initiatives to integrate experiential learning and civic engagement into the academic mission, secured external funding, and advised senior leadership on community-engaged strategies. His leadership helped position the university as a national model for engaged scholarship and regional collaboration.   Earlier in his career, Dr. Mellas held leadership and teaching roles at Minneapolis Community and Technical College, where he directed service-learning programs, co-founded a center for civic engagement, and taught courses in Spanish language and culture.   A former Peace Corps volunteer in Paraguay, Dr. Mellas brings a global perspective to his work, grounded in cross-cultural collaboration and grassroots development. He earned his Ph.D. in Higher Education Policy and Administration from the University of Minnesota, with a minor in Program Evaluation. He also holds a Master of Science in Spanish from Minnesota State University, Mankato, and a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies and Spanish from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota.