Minnesota State Mankato Names Aeleah Soine Dean of College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Minnesota State University, Mankato Provost and Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs David Hood announced that Aeleah Soine has been named dean of the University’s College of Humanities and Social Sciences, effective July 1, after a national search.

Soine joins Minnesota State Mankato after serving since 2011 in both administrative and faculty positions at Saint Mary’s College of California in Moraga, California.

Since 2021, Soine has served as vice provost for academic success at Saint Mary’s. In that role, Soine has provided strategic leadership for institution-wide initiatives focused on student persistence, equity, advising, curriculum innovation and degree completion.

“Dr. Soine’s leadership at Saint Mary’s has contributed to measurable improvements in retention and graduation rates, implementation of data-informed academic policy reforms and successful external grant funding to support student success,” said Hood. “She is a first-generation college graduate and brings a deep personal and professional commitment to access, inclusion and student-centered academic leadership.”

During Soine’s first 10 years at Saint Mary’s (2011-2021), she served as professor of history and on the advisory boards for Women’s & Gender Studies and Global & Regional Studies. She later became the college’s director of academic advising and chair of the Department of History.

As a scholar, Soine is a historian of modern Europe with expertise in gender, citizenship, religion, health and social welfare. She is the author of numerous peer-reviewed publications and is working on a manuscript examining the transnational history of German nursing and professionalization. She has also led national funded public history and community-engaged learning initiatives.

Soine earned a doctorate in modern European history and a master’s degree from the University of Minnesota, and a bachelor’s degree in history and women’s studies from Gustavus Adolphus College in Saint Peter, Minnesota.

Soine joins Minnesota State Mankato as dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences following Michael Olson, who has served as interim dean since Aug. 28, 2025.

Minnesota State Mankato, a comprehensive university with 15,721 students, is part of the Minnesota State system, which includes 26 colleges and seven universities.