Dear Colleagues,
On April 29, I announced that Dean Primack had initiated a leave of absence and that I had appointed Dr. Rick Settersten, who had been serving as vice provost for faculty affairs, acting dean. Dr. Primack has since shared with me that he will step down from the dean position for personal reasons. Following a leave of absence for the remainder of this academic year, he will continue as a tenured professor in the college.
While serving as dean since June 2022, Dr. Primack led the college through completion of a complex reorganization strengthening cohesion among the College’s key areas of focus in public health, nutrition, exercise science, and human development; initiated strategies to increase enrollments, transdisciplinary research, and student success; and recruited outstanding leaders to fill multiple vacancies in the College. Working together with his team, he also led a resurgence of development efforts, resulting in the College exceeding its year-long fundraising goal in less than 6 months. I am grateful for his service as dean.
Dr. Rick Settersten will continue to lead the college, shifting from acting to interim dean. His appointment is expected to last for the duration of a national search and until the new dean begins their appointment. Prior to launching a search, I will consult with the college’s leadership, faculty and staff about college priorities and qualifications needed in the next dean.
For the time being, faculty affairs matters will be overseen by Vice Provost for Academic Affairs and Senior Vice Provost Alix Gitelman. I am reviewing options supporting the important work in this area going forward. In the meantime, do not hesitate to contact and work with members of the faculty affairs team as you normally would. Dr. Gitelman and the team will assess requests, coordinate timely responses, and ensure that programs and initiatives continue. As a reminder, if you have HR-related inquiries, please direct those requests to University Human Resources.
President Murthy and I wish Dr. Primack well and we thank Dr. Settersten for stepping in to lead the college through this period of transition.
Edward Feser
Provost and Executive Vice President