University of Georgia Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Pamela Whitten has appointed a committee to begin a national search to fill the position of dean of the Graduate School.

Craig H. Kennedy, dean of the College of Education, will chair the search and screening committee, which includes faculty, staff and student representatives as well as members of the policymaking body of the graduate faculty, the Graduate Council.

Additional search committee members are:

• Jonathan Amster, professor and head of the department of chemistry in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences;
• T. W. Cauthen, assistant vice president for academic, campus and community partnerships in the Division of Student Affairs;
• Adrian Childs, professor in the Hugh Hodgson School of Music and Graduate Council member;
• Adam Clause, doctoral student in the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources and Presidential Graduate Fellow in the Integrative Conservation Ph.D. Program;
• Shelley Hooks, associate professor of pharmaceutical and biomedical sciences in the College of Pharmacy and Graduate Council member;
• Mary Ann Johnson, Bill and June Flatt Professor in Foods and Nutrition in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences;
• Heather Malcom, chief of staff for development in the Division of Development and Alumni Relations;
• R. Baxter Miller, interim Donald L. Hollowell Distinguished Professor of Social Justice and Civil Rights Studies and professor of English in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences;
• Paul Rollins, associate dean for administration in the School of Law;
• Kaori Sakamoto, associate professor of pathology in the College of Veterinary Medicine;
• Meredith Welch-Devine, director of interdisciplinary graduate studies in the Graduate School; and
• Mark Wilson, UGA Foundation Professor of health promotion and behavior and associate dean for academic affairs in the College of Public Health.

The committee will be assisted by the UGA Search Group in Human Resources.

Maureen Grasso, who has served as dean of the Graduate School since 2002, was recently named the dean of the Graduate School at North Carolina State University. Julie Coffield, associate dean of UGA’s Graduate School, will serve as interim dean beginning June 5.

“The strength of our graduate and professional programs is intertwined with several critical priorities at UGA, including expanding our research enterprise, fostering economic development and positioning our students for success in today’s globalized knowledge economy,” Whitten said. “I appreciate the willingness of Dean Kennedy and the faculty, staff and student representatives to serve on this important committee and know that the Graduate School is in good hands under the leadership of Dr. Coffield while we conduct a national search for the next permanent dean.”