Braunbeck Named Assistant Dean of Interdisciplinary Studies Program

Dr. Helga Braunbeck has been named assistant dean of the Interdisciplinary Studies Program at North Carolina State University, effective August 16. The IDS program is housed in NC State’s College of Humanities and Social Sciences.

Braunbeck has been at NC State since 1990. For the past three years she has directed International Studies within IDS and co-directed the Hamilton Scholars Program (a dual-degree program between CHASS and the College of Management). She has coordinated the German section in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures for 19 years, where she has also created a successful interdisciplinary German Studies major.

“We are delighted that Helga has accepted this appointment,” says Jeffery P. Braden, dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. “She led International Studies through a period of tremendous growth, despite the budgetary constraints of the last several years. Under her watch, International Studies has grown at a yearly rate of 50%. She also built the German Studies major from the ground up. Helga brings extensive administrative experience as well as a strong collaborative approach. Interdisciplinary Studies is in good hands.”

Braunbeck will continue to lead the German Section and German Studies Major Program.

Braunbeck earned her Ph.D. in German Literature from the University of California, Santa Barbara. She holds a master’s degree in German Literature from the University of Oregon and passed the State Board Examination at Eberhard-Karls-Universität in Tübingen, Germany, in English and German Literature and Linguistics. Braunbeck’s research focuses on Contemporary German Literature, especially references to the arts and to media in the literary text. She teaches German language, literature and culture, and courses in World Literature in Translation.

The CHASS Interdisciplinary Studies Program awards an array of cross-disciplinary undergraduate degrees, including majors and dual-degree programs, as well as minors. IDS also offers a master’s degree in liberal studies (MALS). IDS major programs include Africana Studies, Arts Studies, Film Studies, International Studies, Science Technology and Society (STS), Self-Design Studies, and Women’s and Gender Studies; minor programs include Middle Eastern Studies and Nonprofit Studies. Five dual-degree programs enable students to combine scientific or professional study with a focus in the humanities or social sciences; students graduate with two undergraduate degrees.