David Mengel

Dr. Mengel became Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences in 2016 after serving as an Associate Dean who worked closely with the university's honors and interdisciplinary programs. His commitment to fostering innovative approaches to teaching, learning, and research has been informed by his work as founding Faculty Director of Xavier University's Center for Teaching Excellence.

A Professor of History, Dr. Mengel's research has focused on medieval Europe, especially on the city of Prague under the rule of Emperor Charles IV (1346-78). His interests include cultural and religious history, urban history, topography, and the cult of saints.

Both his teaching and his research have been informed by an interdisciplinary background in the study of the Middle Ages, first at Vanderbilt, then at Cambridge on a British Marshall Scholarship, and finally at Notre Dame, where he earned his PhD from the Medieval Institute. In the course of his doctoral studies, he also spent a year studying in Prague and another in Germany.