Chris Boyer, Ph.D.

Christopher R. Boyer is a seasoned academic leader with a decade of administrative experience at large, public research universities dedicated to student access and service to their regions. Boyer was selected as the Founding Dean of the College of Humanities & Earth and Social Sciences at UNC Charlotte after a national search. He began his tenure on July 1, 2024.

Boyer earned a bachelor’s degree in comparative literature from Dartmouth College, a master’s degree in political science from the University of Pittsburgh and a Ph.D. in history from the University of Chicago. He is fluent in English, Spanish, French and Portuguese.

An environmental historian of modern Mexico and Latin America, Boyer’s scholarship investigates the social history of forest management in Mexico between 1880 and 2000, with special emphasis on the experiences of indigenous communities in the north and west of the country.

Boyer’s leadership extends internationally and includes serving on the editorial board for the journal The Americas since 2018 and on the executive committee for the Conference of Mexican and International Historians for 10 years. He served on the Council of the American Historical Association for six years.

He has won multiple teaching awards and has held several fellowships including the National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship for University Teachers. Boyer is the author of many journal articles and books, and his most recent work was the winner of “Best Book in Social Sciences” from the Latin American Studies Association, Mexico Section, and winner of the Charles A. Weyerhaeuser book award from the Forest History Society.

He previously held the position of dean of the College of Arts and Letters at Northern Arizona University from 2020-2024, where he worked to rebuild the college, promoted a public-facing agenda in the arts and humanities and created initiatives to support student success. Prior to his appointment at NAU, Boyer was professor and chair of the Department of History at the University of Illinois Chicago, where he held an appointment in Latin American and Latino Studies.

Boyer and his wife, Amy Shannon, have one son and a daughter-in-law, and he enjoys exploring new trails in the Piedmont as an avid hiker.