Wendy Wilkins recently returned from Hawaii where she attended her first meeting as a member of the Board of Directors of the Council of Colleges and Arts and Sciences.

Wilkins, dean of the MSU College of Arts and Letters, was welcomed to the nine-member board at its annual meeting in November held in Toronto, Canada.

The council, which has more than 500 member institutions, is a networking organization for deans. Members attend meetings to exchange information about policy, procedure and tips to be better administrators.

Wilkins began her three-year term this month.

Patricia Paulsell, associate dean for undergraduate studies in the College of Arts and Letters, said Wilkins is highly qualified for the position based on her experience.

“Wendy has served CCAS in various capacities over several years, from group discussion facilitator to conference program chair and has gained the respect and admiration of her peers,” Paulsell said.

“She has had the kind of significant experience which is needed to help guide a national organization of deans such as the Council of Colleges of Arts and Sciences.”

Wilkins served as the associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Arizona State University before coming to MSU in 1998. She has served as dean of the College of Arts and Letters, one of the three largest colleges at MSU, for three years.

In addition, she has held positions at several institutions in Mexico and at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

Wilkins said she’s pleased to have the opportunity to exchange information and ideas with deans from across the nation.

“The idea is for deans to help each other be better deans,” she said. “I think we do things here well, so this gives me a chance to share that with deans from elsewhere.”

And Wilkins said she’s enthusiastic about representing MSU through her new role.

“I think, in general, anything that gives MSU national visibility is a good thing,” she said. “This is an organization made of many other institutions and every time I do something, my college and Michigan State is attached to my name.”

Sally Frost Mason, who serves as president of the council’s board of directors and dean of arts and sciences at the University of Kansas, said Wilkins proved her candidacy through both her past participation and at the first meeting.

“She’s already been a good participant in terms of giving us great feedback and helping us craft next year’s meetings,” she said. “Wendy is a really good thinker and I’m really pleased that she’s a part of the board.”