Freng Appointed as Interim Dean of UW College of Arts and Sciences

A longtime University of Wyoming faculty member and administrator has been appointed as the interim dean of UW’s College of Arts and Sciences.

Department of Criminal Justice and Sociology Professor Adrienne Freng, currently the associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, takes the reins of the college from Scott Turpen, who today (Monday) becomes UW’s interim provost.

Freng’s appointment was approved by UW’s Board of Trustees last week.

“Dr. Freng has been a key leader in her department, the College of Arts and Sciences and the university for many years, and I’m delighted that she will now serve as interim dean,” Turpen says. “The college has some exciting initiatives and efforts underway, and I’m confident those will continue to move forward under her leadership.”

Freng received her bachelor’s degree in sociology and psychology from Black Hills State University in 1995, her master’s degree in sociology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1997 and her Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2001. She became an assistant professor in the UW Department of Criminal Justice in 2001.

Over her 23-year career at UW, Freng has risen to the rank of professor in the Department of Criminal Justice; served as chair of the Department of Criminal Justice and Sociology from 2013-2020; and has acted as the internship coordinator and distance program coordinator from 2020-23. Freng has served on well over 20 various university, department and college committees, as well as several committees on the community and state levels.