April 2,
2007
Dean Lennie outlines administrative changes in the
College
Richard Feldman
Joanna Olmstead
Kevin Parker
Paul Slattery
Peter Lennie recently announced changes to the College
administration, highlighting new appointments and describing the rationale
behind the restructuring. Among the changes is the appointment of a new
dean of arts and sciences as a counterpart to the dean of engineering and
applied sciences. Lennie also announced that he will split the current post
of dean of research and graduate studies into two positions to allow
effective management of technology transfer and information technology
along with the simultaneous growth of graduate programs.
Lennie, the Robert L. and Mary L. Sproull Dean of the
Faculty of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering, says the new organizational
structure provides a level of support that will enable departments and
faculty to flourish. “I am convinced that we could better serve the
faculty, departments, and programs if we established a more explicit
divisional organization.”
Lennie has appointed Richard Feldman as dean of the
College. A professor of philosophy who has been on the Rochester faculty
for more than 30 years, Feldman was appointed interim dean in July and
oversees undergraduate academic and cocurricular affairs.
Joanna Olmsted, who has served as dean of faculty
development and most recently as dean of the College faculty, has been
named the new dean of arts and sciences. Olmsted and Kevin Parker, the
current dean of engineering and applied sciences, will have general
responsibility for the academic departments and programs within their
divisions. Parker, who is the William F. May Professor of Engineering, has
held the post since 1998 and plans to step down once a new appointee is
selected. Lennie says he intends to begin the search for a new dean in the
2007–08 academic year.
“Among research universities we are unique in
having arts and sciences and engineering administered within a single
academic unit. This enables us to provide an integrated curriculum and
services for undergraduates and to better coordinate research activities
and support across disciplines. Our distinctively strong interdisciplinary
profile is a testimonial to this,” says Lennie. “At the same
time, our two principal divisions have different professional traditions
and needs, and different kinds of engagement with the world outside the
University; these are good reasons for maintaining distinct identities. A
dean of arts and sciences allows us to recognize those distinctions more
explicitly.”
Paul Slattery, the dean of research and graduate
studies, will assume new responsibilities as the dean of research,
including technology transfer and information technology. He will continue
to manage grant sign-off and negotiate conflict-of-interest management
plans for faculty and staff. Slattery has agreed to oversee graduate
affairs until a new dean for graduate studies is appointed.
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