Rate My Professor Pauline Gagnon

Dr. Pauline Gagnon, Ph.D., serves as Professor of Theatre and Program Coordinator at the University of West Georgia, where she has been a faculty member since 1990. She earned her Ph.D. in Theatre/Drama, with concentrations in Directing & Performance and History & Criticism, from the University of Michigan in 1987. Beginning her career at UWG as Director of Theatre and Assistant Professor in Mass Communications and Theatre, she progressed to Associate Professor (1994-1995), full Professor (1999-present), and held extensive administrative leadership roles. These include Director of Interdisciplinary Studies & Writing Across the Curriculum (1995-1996), Assistant Dean (1996-1999), Associate Dean (1999-2004), Interim Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences (2004-2005), Chair of Mass Communications and Theatre (2007-2010), Chair of Theatre (2010-2015), Dean of Arts and Humanities (2015-2020), Interim Dean of Science and Mathematics (Fall 2019), and Dean of Arts, Culture, and Scientific Inquiry (2020-2024). Throughout her tenure, she has directed numerous productions and taught courses in theatre appreciation, acting, theatre history, and interdisciplinary studies.

Dr. Gagnon's scholarly contributions include co-authoring the textbook Theatre Arts: An Interdisciplinary Approach (Kendall/Hunt Publishing, 2012; second edition 2015; third edition 2019 with Joseph Monaghan III). She has been deeply involved with the Association for Interdisciplinary Studies (AIS), serving as Editor of its journal Issues in Interdisciplinary Studies (2004-2012), co-editor of volumes 31 (2013) and 32 (2014), and currently on the Editorial Board. A past President of AIS (2007-2009) and Past-President (2009-2013), she received the William H. Newell Award for Exemplary Service (2012) and Faculty Research Award (1996) from AIS. Additionally, she has earned multiple Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Meritorious Achievement Awards for directing, including for Antics and Theatrics (2015), Avenue Q (2013), Broke-ology (2012), and Plumfield, Iraq (2010). As a consultant for AIS, she has supported interdisciplinary programs at institutions such as Montclair State University (2024) and others, enhancing her impact in theatre education and interdisciplinary scholarship.