College of Charleston Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Suzanne Austin has appointed two longtime faculty members to lead the School of the Arts and the Center for International Education.
Edward Hart ’88, chair of the Department of Music, has been appointed as dean of the School of the Arts. He succeeds Dean Valerie Morris, who is retiring this year after expertly guiding the school since 1998. Mark P. Del Mastro, associate provost for curriculum and academic administration, will lead the Center for International Education (CIE) as associate provost for academic and international programs beginning Jan. 1, 2021. Del Mastro is taking the helm of the CIE following the retirement of Andrew Sobiesuo, associate provost for international education and professor of Hispanic studies.
Edward Hart
A music faculty member since 1993, Hart has a longstanding commitment to the success of the College and to Charleston’s vibrant arts community. He has served as department chair since 2013, demonstrating visionary leadership as well as many administrative and artistic talents.
Hart has also cultivated and enhanced partnerships with many local arts organizations, including the Charleston Symphony, where he serves on the executive board; the Charleston Jazz Orchestra; the Charleston Men’s Chorus; the Charleston Symphony Orchestra Chorus; and the Charleston Opera Theatre. He has served on the board of the South Carolina Arts Commission and is a regular guest lecturer for Spoleto Festival USA’s Salon Series.
Hart earned his master’s and doctoral degrees in music from the University of South Carolina and his B.A. in music at the College of Charleston.
Mark Del Mastro
Del Mastro’s involvement with international education is impressive, starting with his own study abroad experiences as an undergraduate student in Salamanca, Spain, and then later as a graduate student in Madrid. As a faculty member at The Citadel for nearly two decades, he directed multiple study abroad programs in Spain, founded and directed their Maymester program in Quito, Ecuador, and oversaw the establishment of new summer programs in Alcalá de Henares, Spain, and Puebla, Mexico.
As chair of the College’s Department of Hispanic Studies from 2010 to 2019, he oversaw and helped bolster CofC’s own faculty-led programs in Argentina, Chile and Spain, and he worked directly with Sobiesuo to restructure the College’s program in Santiago, Chile, which is now hosted at the University of Santiago Chile. Del Mastro’s extensive work with international education for over 30 years will help the College build upon Sobiesuo’s many accomplishments at the Center for International Education.
