June 9, 2016

Purdue to initiate dean search for College of Science

A search will begin for dean of the Purdue University College of Science in response to the announcement that Jeffrey Roberts will step down from that position, effective July 9. Roberts has served as the Frederick L. Hovde Dean of the College of Science since August 2009. He will return to the Department of Chemistry as a full-time professor. Craig Svensson, dean of the College of Pharmacy, will take on the additional responsibility of interim dean for the College of Science until a successor is appointed.

"I'm deeply appreciative of Jeff's many contributions to the college during his tenure," said Deba Dutta, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs and diversity. "His leadership was instrumental in our drug discovery and computer science expansion efforts, which are key components of Purdue Moves, as well as the Pillars of Excellence in the Life Sciences, which represents a $250 million total investment by the university."

Dutta said he will seek out input from College of Science faculty, staff and administrators as the process to begin the national search for a new dean gets underway.

Svensson came to Purdue from the University of Iowa in October 2006 as the dean of the College of Pharmacy, Nursing and Health Sciences. He has served as the College of Pharmacy dean since July 2010 after a realignment of the pharmacy, nursing and health sciences colleges. Svensson holds appointments as professor of medicinal chemistry and molecular pharmacology at Purdue as well as adjunct professor of pharmacology and toxicology at the Indiana University School of Medicine.

The College of Science, founded in 1907, has 326 tenure-track faculty and enrolls more than 1,000 graduate students and more than 3,000 undergraduates. It is made up of seven departments: biological sciences; chemistry; computer science; earth, atmospheric and planetary sciences; mathematics; physics and astronomy; and statistics. All seven departments are ranked nationally in the most recent U.S News & World Report graduate school rankings, and the analytical chemistry program is ranked first in the nation. The Department of Chemistry also has had two Nobel Prize winners, Herbert C. Brown and Ei-ichi Negishi.


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