Frances L. Hoffmann

Frances L. Hoffmann held a joint appointment as professor of sociology and gender and women’s studies. She joined the College in August 2000 as Dean of the College and professor of sociology and gender and women's studies and was appointed Dean of the Faculty of Connecticut College in February, 2003, serving in that capacity through June, 2007. She retired from the College in 2007.

Prior to Connecticut College, between 1990 and 2000, she served in various faculty and administrative roles at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, including director of the Institute for Women's and Gender Studies, chair of the Department of Sociology and associate professor of sociology and women's studies.

Prior to her work at UM-St. Louis, Professor Hoffmann was dean of student affairs at Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Her research interests and publications have focused on gender issues in higher education, student development, student affairs policy and program evaluation.

Professor Hoffmann has a strong commitment to transnational education and interdisciplinary study. She co-directed a Study Away Teach Away (SATA) program in the spring of 2008 that brought 13 Connecticut College students to Hanoi, Vietnam, for coursework in Vietnamese history, culture, and language as well as issues in gender and development.

In Fall 2009, Professor Hoffmann was in residence at the Asian University for Women in Chittagong, Bangladesh, consulting on curricular and co-curricular planning and establishing a program assessment capacity.

Professor Hoffmann holds a B.A. in mathematics from Cornell University, an M.A. in sociology from the University of Kentucky and a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Oregon.

Professor Hoffmann taught courses in sociology and gender and women’s studies, including gender issues in higher education; gender, sex and society; social institutions; and gender and development.

View the Gender and Women's Studies Department website and Majoring in Gender & Women's Studies.