Mary Anne Fitzpatrick, the founding Dean of the new College of Arts and Sciences (established January 16, 2005) at the University of South Carolina, is a Carolina Educational Foundation Distinguished Professor of Psychology. As the chief academic and operating officer of the College, her responsibilities include strategic planning and policy development (in collaboration with the senior staff and the Academic Planning Council), faculty recruitment and retention, resource development and allocation, academic program development and review, and external relations. She represents the collective ideas and energies of the faculty, staff, and students of the College of Arts and Sciences.

Fitzpatrick is responsible for the largest College on campus, which comprises 700 faculty in twenty three departments and twenty-two institutes, programs and research centers, as well as the McKissick Museum. The College encompasses a wide range of disciplines with nationally recognized programs in the arts, humanities, and natural and social sciences. Including contracts and grants, the overall expenditure for these activities is approximately $112 million. Additionally, the College enrolls around 35% of the University's students in its departments and programs, and 90% of the freshman and sophomore credits are delivered by the College faculty.