Webster University is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Maria- Regina Kecht as the new Academic Director of Webster University in Vienna. Dr. Kecht brings to the Vienna campus a wealth of academic and scholarly experience from both the Austrian and the American higher education systems.

A native Austrian citizen, Dr. Kecht completed her doctorate in Austria at the University of Innsbruck. She also completed a Master of Arts degree at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and did doctoral studies at the University of Indiana in Bloomington, Indiana.
She then remained in the United States for more than 25 years crafting a distinguished academic career, first at a small liberal arts college (Hamilton College in Clinton, NY), then at a major public university (University of Connecticut, Storrs), and finally at a major private university (Rice University in Houston, Texas).

As a professor of German language and culture and as an administrator, Dr. Kecht became an academic entrepreneur and innovator. She set up the Rice University Center for the Study of Languages and functioned as its first Director from 1997-2002. Her tasks at the Center included reforming language instruction; designing a program of ongoing professional development in language acquisition and methodology; establishing a nationally accredited system of students' language proficiency (entry and exit); increasing enrollments; developing cross-cultural courses; providing experiential learning opportunities through internships; integrating multi-media technology into all levels of language learning/teaching; hiring and directing the instructional team (approximately 25 faculty members) and its professional staff (5 members); doing outreach work; and being responsible for the operating budget and grant funds.

At UConn/Storrs, Dr. Kecht was Director of several grant-funded projects to strengthen foreign languages across the curriculum and to create a double major program in German language study and engineering. While at Rice, she conducted two NEH Summer Institutes in Vienna, Austria, for US faculty; and organized a national conference at Rice of the Modern Austrian Literature and Culture Association.

Dr. Kecht is the recipient of nine curricular grants (from the NEH, FIPSE, DAAD -- German Academic Exchange Service) and numerous research grants. An accomplished scholar, she has published three books, over 35 articles and book chapters in refereed journals and university presses, as well as many book reviews; given innumerable conference presentations and workshops; and served as editor of the scholarly journal, Modern Austrian Literature, for several years.

After such a prolific career in the USA, Dr. Kecht wishes to return to her native Austria, much to Webster's benefit. She will begin her appointment as the Academic Director of Webster University in Vienna in August, 2010.