Current Position: Academic Director/Vizerektorin, Webster University, Vienna, Austria Country of Origin: Austria

Degrees

• Doctor of Philosophy summa cum laude, Innsbruck Univ., 1982
  American Literature; minors in Comparative Lit. and Russian
  Dissertation: "Die Elemente des Grotesken im Prosawerk von V. Nabokov."
• M.A., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1979
  Comparative Literature
• Teacher's Diploma for Russian, Pushkin Institute in Moscow, 1978

Employment

• Academic Director/Vizerektorin, Webster University, Vienna, Austria, 2010-
• Gender Studies, Universität Salzburg, Guest Professorship, Spring 2010
• German Studies, Rice University, Houston, TX, 1997-2010
• German and Comparative Literature at the University of Connecticut, Storrs, 1989-97
• German and Russian at Hamilton College, 1985-89    
• German, School of German, Middlebury/University of Mainz, 1984-85
• Comparative Literature, Indiana University, Bloomington, 1982-83

Previous Administrative Experience

Director of NEH Summer Institute, “Melting Pot Vienna: Then and Now” in Vienna, Austria (with Prof. Helga Schreckenberger), Summer 2006
Tasks: write grant proposal, including budget and detailed program; obtain confirmation of all invited on-site speakers contributing to the instructional program of the Institute; select among applications; correspond with participants, speakers, and contacts at the Diplomatic Academy; prepare all excursions; offer on-site classes (seminars, discussions); do German proficiency interviews; oversee operating budget; write final report to the NEH.

Editor, Modern Austrian Literature, 2005-2008
Tasks: selection of 15-member international advisory board; selection of peer reviewers; correspondence with authors, reviewers, and board members; in charge of process of swift and fair evaluation; promotion of journal (in different international venues; establishment of on-line archive of the journal (EBSCO and GALE); collaborative selection of content-focus; overseeing the different steps of the publication process (from ms submission to mailing of journal volumes to subscribers).

Organizer/Host of the Annual International Conference of the Modern Austrian Literature and Culture Association (MALCA) at Rice University, Houston, TX, April 22-25, 2004. (http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~malca)
Tasks: advertise and promote the event; seek funds from university entities and external sources; create web-presence; select among paper submissions; devise program schedule; organize logistics for participants’ accommodation and transportation (including keynote speaker and invited artists); oversee allocation of funds/expenditures; host event and do conference evaluation.

Director of the Rice Center for the Study of Languages, Rice University, Houston, TX, 1997-2002
Tasks: reform language instruction, design a program of ongoing professional development in language acquisition and methodology (for faculty and graduate students); establish a nationally accredited assessment system of students’ language proficiency (entry and exit); increase enrollments; develop cross-cultural courses; provide experiential learning opportunities (through internships within the US and abroad); integrate state-of-the-art multi-media into all levels of language learning/teaching; hire and direct the CSL instructional team (approximately 25 faculty members) and its professional staff (five members); do outreach work; publish a semi-annual newsletter; be responsible for the operating budget (including salaries) and grant funds.

Director of NEH Summer Institute, “The People of Vienna in a Century of Turmoil, 1848-1955,” in Vienna, Austria (with Prof. Dorothy James), Summer 2001
Tasks: write grant proposal, including budget and detailed program; obtain confirmation of all invited on-site speakers contributing to the instructional program of the Institute; select among applications; correspond with participants, speakers, and contacts at the Diplomatic Academy; prepare all excursions; offer on-site classes (seminars, discussions); do German proficiency interviews; host visitor from the NEH; oversee operating budget; write final report to the NEH.

Co-Director of NET GAIN at the University of Connecticut (NET GAIN: A Project to Strengthen Foreign Languages Across the Curriculum Through Networking); FIPSE-funded national project under the auspices of the American Council on Education, 1996-1998
Tasks: participate in ACE grant proposal, including budget and detailed program; establish collaboration with two partner universities interested in Languages Across the Curriculum; visit their campuses and offer LAC workshops to faculty; mentor faculty at partner institutions; perform assessment; oversee operating budget; write final report to the ACE.

Project Director of NEXT STEPS at the University of Connecticut (NEXT STEPS:  A Project to Strengthen Foreign Languages Across the Curriculum); NEH-funded national project under the auspices of the American Council on Education, 1995-1997
Tasks: participate in ACE grant proposal, including budget and detailed program; introduce LAC at the 100-level (in required “Western Civilization” courses); organize regular LAC workshops for participating faculty; host conference on the topic; do student surveys and course quality assessment; oversee operating budget; host visit of external evaluator; write final report to the ACE.

Director, Linkage Through Language (Foreign Languages Across the Curriculum), April 1994-1997
Tasks: write grant proposal to the NEH (including budget and details of program); organize and direct professional development of participating faculty (from different disciplines); promote and advertise program; oversee design of new LAC courses (team-taught); devise assessment instruments; hold staff meetings; oversee operating budget; institutionalize new LAC courses; attend NEH directors’ meetings; host external evaluators; write progress and final reports to the NEH.

Director, EUROTECH (Integrated dual-degree program in German and Engineering), August 1993-1997 (with Richard Long)
Tasks: write grant proposal to the Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education (including budget and details of program); organize and direct professional development of participating faculty (from German and engineering/sciences); promote and advertise program; oversee design of new content-based course sequence; establish connections to industry in CT and in Germany/Austria; visit overseas companies to secure internships; establish dual-degree program in the School of Engineering and in Liberal Arts&Sciences; devise assessment instruments; oversee operating budget; host external evaluators; write progress and final reports to FIPSE.

Click here for a detailed Curriculum Vitae including information about:

• Curricular Grants
• Research Grants and Academic Awards
• Publications (Books and Refereed Articles and Chapters)
• Book Reviews
• Translations and Other Creative Work
• Presentations
• Workshop Offered
• Selected Professional Service and/or Development
• Academic Service (Nationally, At Rice University and at the University of Connecticut)
• Research and Teaching Interests     
• Courses Taught
• Memberships (selected)

Contact Dr. Kecht