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TO HEAD UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION (UNIVERSITY DIVISION)
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- In a move Indiana University officials say is indicative of the university's ongoing effort to intensify support of undergraduate education, the IU Trustees have elevated the leadership of the University Division from that of a director to a deanship, with the appointment of William S. Harwood.
Harwood comes to Bloomington from the University of Maryland, College Park, where he has served as assistant dean in the Office of Undergraduate Studies since 1995. Prior to that, he was director of the Office of Undergraduate Programs in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry for six years.
The IU Trustees approved the appointment at a meeting in Indianapolis today (Aug. 21). Harwood will also be an associate professor of science education.
University Division (UD) is the academic gateway to IU's degree-granting programs, and more than 95 percent of all IU Bloomington freshmen begin their campus experience as UD students. The conversion of the division's leadership from that of director to dean, and the national search for the right candidate, is an indication of the value IU places on undergraduate programs, officials said.
"University Division is the critical entry point for Bloomington freshmen, and the essential transition point between high school and college," said Kenneth R.R. Gros Louis, vice president for academic affairs and chancellor of the Bloomington campus. "It also supports a large number of sophomores who continue to be advised there. The success of our students depends to a large degree on the quality of advising and service they receive from the superb staff of the Division."
Harwood was chosen "primarily because we were so impressed by the reports we received about his administrative work from the University of Maryland," added Deborah Freund, vice chancellor and dean of the faculties. "Across the board, they emphasized that he was the most student-oriented and student-dedicated of administrators. And because he is also an excellent teacher, we knew he would connect with the academic mission of the university as well."
Another advantage to Harwood's appointment is that he comes from an equivalent type of university, Freund said. "University Division is the centerpiece in our efforts to make the undergraduate experience at IU the best anywhere."
Harwood's research interest is chemistry education, and he has an extensive record of publication in that field. He holds a Ph.D. in inorganic chemistry from Purdue University, and has won numerous awards for his advising and teaching, including two Celebrating Teachers Awards from the University of Maryland which were based on his teaching performance in large chemistry lectures for freshmen.
His administrative career is equally distinguished. He has asserted effective and innovative leadership in institutional planning and program management, and is most recognized for his distinctive ability to imbue those processes with an overarching emphasis on the best interests of students. Harwood's key administrative interests include academic and social issues involved in the transition from high school to college; increasing the collaboration between high schools and institutions of higher education; fostering student integration into the academic community; supporting student exploration of majors and careers; and collaborating with student leaders to improve undergraduate education.
University Division has already blazed trails in methods to support undergraduate education, offering "home delivery" of its services through a campuswide network of adviser offices located in IUB residence centers; piloting a program called "Trading Places," which pairs high school counselors and UD advisers in working together on counseling and advising in their espective work environments; providing special workshops and publications for students as they explore academic majors; and helping to create the STARNET, the Student Advising Records Network, which documents and maintains comprehensive, secure records of student advising sessions. STARNET was nominated for a prestigious Smithsonian Award by Computerworld magazine, and was included in the magazine's 1998 Innovation Collection.
(Ellen K. Mathia, 812-855-0085 or 812-855-3911, emathia@indiana.edu)