UNLV Executive Vice President and Provost John Valery White announced recently that Marta Meana, interim dean of the UNLV Honors College, will permanently head the Honors College as of Jan. 2, 2014.

Meana, a professor of psychology at UNLV since 1997, has served as interim dean of the college since July 2012.

Under her leadership as interim dean, the Honors College welcomed its largest and most talented incoming class last fall - including dozens of high school valedictorians and six National Merit scholars. Meana will be responsible for guiding the program and its high achieving and diverse undergraduate students and will work with administrators, faculty and staff to implement the university's mission and goals.

"Working collaboratively with all of the discipline colleges, the Honors College is perfectly positioned to accelerate UNLV's Tier One progress," said Meana. "The recruitment, education, and grooming of the highest achieving students in the valley and beyond, most of whom remain first generation college students, is an exciting venture that changes lives, raises the standing of the entire campus, and transforms our region. I am thrilled to be a part of this effort."

Meana joined the psychology department at UNLV in 1997 after completing a Ph.D. in clinical psychology at McGill University and a post-doctoral research fellowship in women's health at the University of Toronto. A renowned researcher in women's health and human sexuality, Meana has published two books and more than 70 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters.

She has been the recipient of UNLV's Barrick Scholar Award and the College of Liberal Arts William Morris Award for Excellence in Scholarship. Also an accomplished mentor and teacher, Meana served as senior advisor to the UNLV president and has been the recipient of the UNLV Graduate Academic Advisor Award, William Morris Award for Excellence in Teaching, UNLV Foundation Distinguished Teaching Award, and the statewide Nevada Regents Teaching Award.

"I really look forward to working with Marta and building on her vision for the Honors College," said Executive Vice President and Provost John Valery White. "In her time as interim, she has given us a glimpse of her outstanding leadership, organization and communication abilities, and how she can contribute to the Honors College's continuing success."

The Honors College at UNLV is a selective undergraduate college that offers a unique liberal arts and sciences experience for more than 450 high-achieving students. The college is an educational partner with the "discipline" colleges of the University, allowing students to pursue their academic majors with personalized advising, multiple research, service and leadership opportunities, scholarships, priority registration, small class sizes, and special residential arrangements. The combination of a central Honors intellectual core and specialized learning in a major discipline helps develop graduates prepared to succeed in graduate and professional schools and in rewarding careers.