Nancy Dunbar retired in 2014 after 32 years of service as a teacher and administrator. She joined the faculty in Theatre, Speech ad Dance (now Theatre Arts and Performance Studies) in 1982 and taught courses in public speaking, persuasion, argumentation and rhetorical theory and criticism. She developed the Rhetoric Fellows program in collaboration with the established Writing Fellows program to extend speech instruction to classes beyond the department. From 1993 to 1998, Nancy chaired the department. In collaboration with theatre faculty and then-artistic director of Trinity Repertory Company Oskar Eustis, she led the development of the Brown-Trinity MFA programs in acting and directing and the PhD program in theatre, all of which were approved in 2002. She also briefly directed the Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning.
In 1998, Nancy joined the senior administration, first as Dean of the College (1998-2001) and then as Associate Provost. She maintained a wide ranging portfolio of assignments and projects, including and oversight of academic space assignment, renovation and construction; implementation of Brown’s first enterprise system, Banner, which united all student information from admission, financial aid, registration and records,, and financial services in a single system; development of a comprehensive and ongoing program of external reviews for academic departments, centers and programs; development of systems and protocols for maintenance of institutional data; and so forth.
Since retirement, Nancy continues to teach as a consultant to a variety of academic, business and professional organizations and individuals. She is currently a Teaching Fellow at Boston College’s Center for Corporate Citizenship.
