Professor of French Sobanet to Serve as College of Arts & Sciences Interim Dean

Georgetown University appointed Andrew Sobanet, a professor in the department of French and Francophone studies and a vice dean in the university’s College of Arts & Sciences (CAS), as interim dean of the College, according to an email Provost Robert M. Groves sent to community members June 26 on behalf of President John J. DeGioia (CAS ’79, GRD ’95).

Sobanet’s appointment comes as incumbent dean Rosario “Rosie” Ceballo, who also serves as a professor of psychology, leaves the university to become dean of the University of Michigan’s College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. Ceballo will depart Georgetown June 30, and Sobanet will begin serving as interim dean July 1.

Sobanet, a graduate of the University of Colorado, Boulder, and the University of Pennsylvania, joined Georgetown’s faculty in 2002 and became the College’s vice dean for faculty affairs in January 2021. He has served as the chair of the department of French and Francophone studies, as a member of the executive committee of the School of Foreign Service’s (SFS) Center for Jewish Civilization and as a liaison between the College and Georgetown’s Qatar campus.

As a vice dean, Sobanet has overseen a dozen departments in the College and worked on creating the College and McDonough School of Business’s joint degree in international business, language and culture. Sobanet’s research centers on politics and French literature; he has authored two books on French literature and has also performed research on Vichy France and political discourse in social media.

According to Groves’s email, the university will perform a national search for a permanent successor to Ceballo.