Bollinger recommends interim VP

University President Lee Bollinger announced yesterday that Dean of Students E. Royster Harper will be recommended to the University Board of Regents to become the interim Vice President for Student Affairs.

Maureen Hartford, who currently holds the position, is leaving the University in mid-June to become the president of Meredith College in July.

Hartford is the first female president of the all-female college in Raleigh, N.C.

In a recent interview, Hartford said the search to find her permanent replacement will most likely begin in September.

Harper, who holds a bachelor's and master's degree from the University, is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in higher education from the University's Center for the Study of Higher and Postsecondary Education.

Harper was not available for comment yesterday.

Searches for permanent deans for the School of Information and the College of Art and Design also are underway.

Karen Gibbons, assistant to the provost, said the search for a new Education dean is currently inactive.

"It's in a holding pattern right now," said Gibbons. The interim dean of the School of Education is Karen Wixson, but the search to fill this position will continue in September.

There is no interim dean for the School of Art and Design, but current dean Allen Samuels submitted his resignation last September.

A national search to fill the permanent spot for the dean of the School of Information is still underway.

"Both of those searches are literally still in progress," Gibbons said.

Last Monday, Bollinger appointed Medical School interim Dean Allan Lichter to the permanent position.

In a written statement, Vice President for Medical Affairs Gilbert Omenn said Lichter's experience as interim dean familiarizes him more than other candidates with the missions of the Medical School.

"During the past four months, Dr. Lichter has served as our interim dean. He has a clear understanding of the strengths of the Medical School and the Health System and the challenges facing academic medicine nationally and locally," Omenn said.

Lichter received his undergraduate degree from the University in 1968 and his doctoral degree from the University Medical School in 1972.

The University's proposed life sciences initiative should make the beginning of his tenure very exciting, Lichter said.

"Using our strengths and investing in our future we can advance medical research and education, while enhancing patient care as we move our school into the highest ranks of medical schools in the nation," Lichter said in a written statement.

Lichter, the president of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, pioneered the development of a three-dimensional X-ray that allows doctors to bypass healthy tissue and focus radiation on tumors.

04-20-99