KNOXVILLE—Theresa M. Lee has been named dean of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, College of Arts and Sciences.
Following a nationwide search, Lee, who is chair of the University of Michigan Department of Psychology, will begin January 1, 2012.
“As the largest and most comprehensive academic unit on campus, the College of Arts and Sciences affects all of our programs and plays a key role in our journey to become a top 25 public research institution,” said Susan Martin, provost and senior vice chancellor for academic affairs. “We are pleased to have Dr. Lee in this role and know she will lead the college during this time of great change and great opportunity.”
Lee replaces Bruce Bursten, who stepped down in December 2010 after more than five years as dean to return to the faculty. Hap McSween, Distinguished Professor of Science and a Chancellor’s Professor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, will continue to serve as interim dean until Lee’s arrival.
Lee has held a number of administrative positions at the University of Michigan, including most recently chair of the Department of Psychology. She is also a professor in the neuroscience program and a research scientist in the reproductive sciences program. Prior to serving as department chair, she was chair of the department’s undergraduate program from 2004 to 2007 and chair of the biopsychology area from 2000 to 2005. She has worked for the Department of Psychology since 1988.
The University of Michigan Department of Psychology seats more than 8,000 students per year in departmental courses and has more than 70 full-time faculty. The department is the second largest research unit in the university’s College of Literature, Science, and the Arts.
In addition to serving as part of several university programs that support academic and research opportunities, Lee also has served on various committees for national organizations, including the Society of Neuroscience and the American Psychological Association. She was recently elected to the board of the Council of Graduate Departments of Psychology.
Lee also has served the National Institutes of Health as a regular panel member and the National Science Foundation as a regular reviewer, as well as the planning committees for smaller specialty societies related to her research interests.
Lee has a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from Indiana University and a doctorate in biopsychology from the University of Chicago.
UT Knoxville’s College of Arts and Sciences spans twenty-three academic departments and schools as well as seventeen centers and institutes. The 9,000-student college offers more than sixty undergraduate majors and pre-professional programs and fifty graduate programs. The college provides general education courses to every undergraduate student on the Knoxville campus.
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C O N T A C T :
Lynn Champion, (865-974-5332, champion@utk.edu)