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Last modified: Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Larry Singell named dean of IU College of Arts and Sciences

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jan. 25, 2011

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Provost and Executive Vice President Karen Hanson announced today that Larry Singell Jr. has been appointed dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Indiana University Bloomington.

Singell, the associate dean for social sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Oregon, is an economist whose research focuses on the economics of higher education. He will assume his duties at IU Bloomington July 1, 2011, subject to confirmation by the IU Board of Trustees.

"Larry Singell brings outstanding credentials to the position of dean," Hanson said. "He has had a range of extraordinarily successful administrative experience at the University of Oregon, including budgetary experience in a system like Indiana's. He is a passionate and eloquent proponent of liberal arts education, and he will be an energetic and persuasive advocate for the College of Arts and Sciences. His research expertise in the economics of higher education gives him insights into the challenges facing universities today, and he is determined to use those insights to support the research and teaching in all areas of the College."

"I am grateful to our outstanding search committee for its superb work in identifying an exceptional set of candidates and to the College faculty and staff for participating so helpfully in the final selection process," Hanson added. "I am delighted that he will be joining us in July, and I am confident that he will serve with great distinction."

IU President Michael A. McRobbie said, "Professor Singell has impressive qualifications both as a researcher and an administrator. He clearly understands the vital importance of public universities to the future of our nation and the world. He has a deep appreciation of the range and complexity of disciplines in the College of Arts and Sciences. I am confident that his tenure will lead to higher levels of excellence for the College and the university."

David Zaret, professor of sociology, continues to serve as interim dean of the College, a position he has held since Bennett I. Bertenthal resigned as dean in March 2010.

A 19-member search committee, made up primarily of faculty from the College and chaired by Russell Hanson, professor and chair of the Department of Political Science, worked with the executive search firm Greenwood/Asher & Associates Inc. to identify, screen and interview prospective candidates.

Singell has worked extensively in the field of applied labor economics. His research focuses on the role that education plays in labor-market outcomes and the extent to which these investments differentially affect choices and opportunities. More recently, he has studied the effects of financial aid programs, such as the Pell grant, on access, retention, graduation and institution choice within higher education.

"I am deeply humbled and honored to be selected as the next dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Indiana University," Singell said. "The College sits at the heart of a university that has for nearly 200 years engaged students to question critically, think logically, communicate clearly, act creatively, and live ethically. At the same time, the faculty has advanced the boundaries of human knowledge through their research to the betterment of Indiana, the United States and the world.

"My work in the economics of education indicates that the role of the public research university will only grow over the next century. Thus, I feel extremely fortunate to be able to continue a tradition that has been so ably established by others, and it is with a profound sense of responsibility that I hope to continue this excellent and important work."

Singell has been on the faculty at the University of Oregon since 1988 and has served as associate dean since 2008. He was head of the Economics Department from 2006-08. He serves on the editorial board and is former editor of the Economics of Education Review, the leading journal in the economics of education. He has a B.A. from the University of Colorado and an M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of California-Santa Barbara.

An avid basketball player, Singell has a son, Thomas, who is a junior at Carleton College, and a daughter, Madison, who is a senior in high school. He said that he and his wife, Shelley, look forward to enjoying the vibrant music and art scene in and around the IU Bloomington campus.

The IU Bloomington College of Arts and Sciences is the oldest and largest academic division of Indiana University. In addition to being the academic home of more than 10,000 students, it provides course work in the liberal arts and sciences for most undergraduate students in other schools at IU Bloomington. More information is at https://www.indiana.edu/~college/.

It includes 70 degree-granting departments and programs, which have 875 tenured or tenure-track faculty members and 2,900 graduate students enrolled in 27 master's and Ph.D. programs. It boasts highly ranked programs in cognitive science, evolutionary biology, clinical science, American studies, ancient studies, India studies, West European studies, sociology, social psychology, history, French and Italian, creative writing, folklore and developmental psychology, along with six federally funded Title VI area studies programs.