Longtime faculty member and dean of students to lead the university's largest academic division
IRVING, Texas (June 18, 2026) — The University of Dallas has appointed Dr. Gregory Roper, BA ’84, as dean of the Constantin College of Liberal Arts.
A longtime member of the University of Dallas faculty who most recently served as dean of students, Roper brings decades of experience as a scholar, teacher and academic leader to the role. During his tenure as dean of students, he worked to strengthen the integration of student life and academic formation.
"Dr. Roper's distinguished record of teaching, scholarship and administrative service as department chair and as dean of students has prepared him well for this new role," said Dr. Matthias Vorwerk, provost of the University of Dallas. "I have come to appreciate his deep love of the University of Dallas, the Core, the faculty and particularly our students. He will bring energy and creativity to a renewed dedication of Constantin College to collegiality, university wide cooperation and prudent innovation as we face a future marked by political, cultural and technological uncertainties."
Dr. Jonathan J. Sanford, president of the University of Dallas, praised Roper’s appointment.
"As dean of students, Dr. Roper worked tirelessly to promote the good, true and beautiful in the lives of our students,” Sanford said. “The cornerstone of his success in that role was the integration of student life with academics. A scholar of significant accomplishment, a demanding and beloved professor, a treasured colleague and an excellent leader, we are blessed that Dr. Roper has accepted the invitation to lead the best undergraduate college in America."
Roper spent decades teaching in the English Department before stepping into administrative roles, and he continued to teach and remain active as a scholar throughout his administrative service.
Roper is the author of several books, including A Life Well-Lived, a guide to undergraduate flourishing, and the recently published Mastering the Four Arguments: The Classical Art of Persuasive Writing, released this year by Encounter Books.
"I am honored that President Sanford has asked me to take on the role of dean of Constantin College," said Roper. "My time as an undergraduate in Constantin quite literally changed my life. In Constantin, my world opened up to the reality of Truth and to the breadth of the Western intellectual tradition. Great professors like Dr. John Alvis, Dr. Scott Dupree, Dr. Ray DiLorenzo and Dr. Eileen Gregory gave me a love of literature that has shaped and sustained my life, and I was 'converted to my own faith.’
“As I have traveled around, others who know the world of Catholic higher education
tell me, ‘We all know UD has the best curriculum, the best academic experience, the
highest academic aspirations,’ and they are right. I am deeply humbled to be asked
to be the servus servorum discipulorum of this generation of superb professors and students."
The Constantin College of Liberal Arts is the academic heart of the university and is nationally recognized for its rigorous Core Curriculum, close faculty mentorship and commitment to the Catholic intellectual tradition. The college educates students to become leading citizens through the pursuit of truth, wisdom and virtue.
Roper succeeds Dr. Philip Harold, who has served as dean of Constantin College since 2021 and will return to full-time teaching as professor of politics. During his tenure, Harold helped strengthen the college's academic life, including through the creation of Undergraduate Research Day, now a highlight of the academic year. He also remained an active scholar while serving as dean, publishing the monograph Against Values in 2022.
