Irving, TX (April 19, 2021) — University of Dallas President and Provost Jonathan J. Sanford, Ph.D., announced the appointment of Philip Harold, Ph.D., as the new dean of Constantin College of Liberal Arts effective July 1. Born in Irving and the son of a UD alumnus, Harold most recently served as the associate dean for the School of Informatics, Humanities and Social Sciences at Robert Morris University in Pennsylvania, where he holds the rank of professor and has filled a variety of administrative leadership roles while teaching political science for 15 years. 

“We are so pleased to welcome Dr. Harold to lead the University of Dallas’ Constantin College, which is the home of UD’s distinctive undergraduate education, including our rigorous and celebrated Core Curriculum and our outstanding undergraduate majors,” said Sanford. “Dr. Harold’s accomplishments as a political scientist, including his excellent teaching and extensive publication record, his deep understanding of and appreciation for the Western intellectual tradition, combined with his significant leadership and strategic experience, make him well suited to lead Constantin’s academic life.” 

During his tenure at Robert Morris University, Harold was instrumental in a number of curriculum development and recruitment initiatives, including founding successful new programs in criminal justice and political science, reviving and growing the university’s Honors Program, and starting accelerated programs for early law school admission as well as accelerated bachelor’s and master's programs in the areas of counseling psychology and cyber investigations and intelligence. 

“Having been born in Irving and as the son of a UD alum, I have always been a child of UD, and I'm thrilled to return home to a place where ideas still count,” said Harold. "The exemplary Core Curriculum, outstanding faculty and quality of intellectual community make Constantin College a national model for undergraduate education.” 

Harold, who earned a Ph.D. in politics at the Catholic University of America, is a researcher in the areas of modern political thought and American politics. A frequent media commentator on Pennsylvania politics, he co-authored the textbook Other People’s Money: Politics in Pennsylvania (Top Hat Monocle, 2020) and wrote Prophetic Politics: Emmanuel Levinas and the Sanctification of Suffering (Ohio University Press, 2009). Harold and his wife, Rachel, a school librarian and art teacher, have seven children, ages 2 to 19. 

About the Constantin College of Liberal Arts 

The Constantin College of Liberal Arts is the center of undergraduate education at the University of Dallas. In addition to offering 30 undergraduate academic programs, Constantin College is also home to the Core Curriculum, a course of study focused on the great works of Western civilization taken by all undergraduates, regardless of major, designed to develop critical thinking skills and inspire intellectual inquiry through the rigorous examination of who we are and how we relate to God, nature and each other. 

The Core Curriculum typically culminates with a semester abroad at UD’s 14-acre Eugene Constantin Campus (informally known as Due Santi) located just outside Rome, Italy. During their Rome semester, students are able to experience firsthand the roots of Western culture, immersed in the architecture, culture and history of the place where so much of Western tradition began.

About the University of Dallas

The University of Dallas, located in a metropolitan area of nearly 8 million people, is a leading Catholic university widely recognized for academic excellence by well-known publications, organizations and accrediting bodies. It offers distinctive undergraduate and graduate programs in the liberal arts, business and ministry that are characterized by academic rigor, an exceptional faculty and a commitment to shaping principled leaders in the Catholic intellectual tradition. For more information, visit udallas.edu.