Provost names search committee for interim dean of College of Arts and Sciences

Jesse Perez Mendez, provost and executive vice president, has appointed a search committee to lead an expedited search for an interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. The internal search will be open to current and qualified K-State employees, and the committee will be chaired by Debbie Mercer, dean of the College of Education.

Search committee members:

• Debbie Mercer, committee chair, professor and dean of the College of Education
• Christer Aakeröy, university distinguished professor and head of the Department of Chemistry
• Eric Brandom, visiting assistant professor in the Department of History
• Marcellus Caldas, university distinguished professor and interim head of the Department of Geography and Geospatial Sciences
• Kimathi Choma, assistant dean for student success, college health initiatives and retention in the College of Arts and Sciences.
• Frank Cummings, senior director of development for arts and sciences for the KSU Foundation.
• Simone Cummings, associate professor and assistant vice provost for academic affairs in the Office of Academic Affairs and Innovation
• Gabe Kerr, professor in the Department of Mathematics
• Sara Luly, associate professor and director of the University Honors Program in the Staley School of Leadership
• Corina Medley, assistant professor in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work
• Kristin Michel, professor in the Division of Biology
• Candice Ortbals-Wiser, professor in the Department of Political Science
• Melitza Rios-Ramirez, academic advisor in the College of Arts and Sciences
• Dawson Wagner, instructor and assistant director of Wildcat Electronic Media in the A.Q. Miller School of Media and Communication
• Karin Westman, professor and head of the Department of English
• Zane Whitney, doctoral student and graduate teaching assistant in the Department of History
• Lydia Zeglin, associate professor and university outstanding scholar in the Division of Biology

The interim dean will take over leadership after Chris Culbertson's departure. A national search for permanent leadership will be conducted later, with more details to come.