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News Release

Last modified: Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Committee named for IU School of Public Health-Bloomington dean search

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Oct. 10, 2012

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- A search and screen committee has been formed to identify finalists for the position of dean of the Indiana University School of Public Health-Bloomington, Provost and Executive Vice President Lauren Robel has announced.

Sarita Soni, vice provost for research at IU Bloomington, will chair the committee, which will conduct an internal search and recommend finalists to Robel.

The school, established in 1946 as the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, formally was renamed last month as one of the university's two new schools of public health, the only such schools in the state.

"The dean of the new School of Public Health-Bloomington will play a critical role in completing the school's accreditation process and cementing its position as a key partner on this campus for interdisciplinary research in the interest of public health," Robel said. "I am delighted that Sarita Soni has agreed to serve as chair, and that such a committed group of faculty, staff and students has agreed to engage in the search and screen process. I am confident that the committee will identify a strong internal candidate for this important position."

Mohammad R. Torabi, Chancellor's Professor and former chair of the Department of Applied Health Science, has served as interim dean since late 2010 as the school of HPER, the third largest school on campus, continued to work through the transition.

Members of the search committee are:

Chair

• Sarita Soni, vice provost for research

Faculty

• David Lohrmann, professor and interim department chair, Department of Applied Health Science
• Maresa Murray, associate clinical professor, Department of Applied Health Science
• Lisa Kamendulis, associate professor, Department of Environmental Health
• Ka He, professor and department chair, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics
• Jan Wallace, professor, Department of Kinesiology
• Lynn Jamieson, professor, Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Studies
• Kosali Simon, health economics professor, School of Public and Environmental Affairs
• Kay Connelly, computer science associate professor, School of Informatics and Computing

Professional Staff

• Jody Vaught, director of business affairs and budget, School of Public Health-Bloomington
• Lisa Cooper, Bloomington Professional Council

Alumni

• John Lester, president of the School of Public Health Alumni Association

Students

• Susan Barnett, doctoral student in leisure studies
• John Nguyen, sophomore in recreational therapy

The committee will begin meeting this semester. The goal is to appoint the new dean during the spring semester.

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