Last modified: Wednesday, September 17, 2003
New IU dean of graduate studies chosen
John T. Slattery, associate dean for academic programs at the Graduate School of the University of Washington in Seattle, has been chosen to succeed George E. Walker as dean of graduate studies at Indiana University, pending approval by the IU Board of Trustees.
Slattery, also a professor of pharmaceutics and a member of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center at the University of Washington, will begin his new position at IU on Nov. 1. An accomplished researcher, Slattery will also join the IU faculty as a tenured professor in the IU School of Medicine, and in the Department of Biology in the College of Arts and Sciences on the Bloomington campus.
The dean of graduate studies is responsible for promoting and sustaining excellence in graduate education, scholarship and research in IU's university-wide graduate programs. The position reports to IU Vice President for Research Michael McRobbie.
"John Slattery will be an excellent leader and spokesperson for graduate education at Indiana University," McRobbie said. "He is aware of and will bring to bear the nation's best practices in graduate education, and he will represent the university's graduate programs to external audiences and funding sources in ways that bring benefit to IU students and programs."
The dean's responsibilities extend beyond the Graduate School itself. While he acts as the academic and administrative leader of the Graduate School, he also works with the deans and administrations of IU's professional schools to enhance the preparation and experience they provide to their graduate and postdoctoral students. IU has 19,300 graduate students among its 98,000 students on eight campuses.
"When most people think about the mission of a university, the first thing that comes to mind is undergraduate education," Slattery said. "Graduate students help the university deliver high-quality undergraduate education, deliver on the university's research mission and the societal and economic benefits that activity affords, and prepare students for the various roles they will play in the most advanced industrial nation in the world. I am extremely grateful for the opportunity IU has afforded me and am enthusiastic about helping it meet its obligations to the people of Indiana. This is a great place."
Walker has served as dean since 1991. He retired in May from the position of vice president for research. He will continue as a special assistant with the Office of the Vice President for Research in addition to concentrating on his work as a senior scholar at the Carnegie Foundation, where he is heading a major national study of the current state of U.S. doctoral programs.
