April 4, 2019

Andrea Tanner has been in her new role as Associate Dean of the South Carolina Honors College just three months — filling the vacancy left by Ed Munn Sanchez —but the seasoned educator is no stranger to working with honors students.

Tanner has taught several courses in the Honors College and served as a senior thesis director. Her research expertise in media communication of health information and her passion for experiential learning have impacted dozens of honors students throughout the years.

“I’ve led four study abroad courses, the most recent one was a service-learning experience in Malawi, Africa,” Tanner says. “I’m looking forward to helping maintain and grow our Beyond the Classroom experiences and, hopefully, developing and leading a course myself."

Tanner says as associate dean she most looks forward to working with honors students and is excited for the opportunity.

“The Honors College is special because of our students’ drive to succeed and make a difference in their community,” she says. “It’s also the commitment of our staff and faculty to develop unique and impactful experiences in and out of the classroom.”

Tanner has deep ties to the university community, with a career that’s stretched almost two decades.

“My faculty home is the School of Journalism and Mass Communications,” she says. “I served as the Director of the School of Journalism and Mass Communications and Associate Dean in the College of Information and Communications from 2015-2018. I am also a founding member and faculty advisor for UofSC’s interdisciplinary certificate of graduate study in health communication.”

As the university grows, the Honors College continues to flourish and achieve at an exceptional rate. Tanner hopes to continue that growth and provide the same level of service that Honors College students and alumni have come to expect.

“Each semester, we teach nearly 600 courses that are taught by some of the best faculty from across our campus,” she says. “However, I think there are many more faculty and staff who can contribute to the mission of our college. I plan to use my communication background to promote what we do and develop new campus partnerships in research, teaching and service.”