USU Names New College of Science Dean

Utah State University Executive Vice President and Provost Raymond T. Coward announced Wednesday, Feb. 21, the appointment of Mary S. Hubbard as the new dean of the university’s College of Science.

Hubbard will be the second woman to lead the College of Science, which includes the academic departments of biology, chemistry and biochemistry, computer science, mathematics and statistics, geology and physics.

 

“We are very pleased to have Dr. Hubbard joining the administrative team of the university,” said Coward. “She will bring a broad range of experiences in teaching, research, outreach and administration, along with a vibrant vision of excellence for the College of Science.

 

“She is a superb selection and we look forward to the leadership that she will provide to the very important academic programs comprising this college,” he said.

 

Hubbard currently serves as professor and head of the Department of Geology at Kansas State University. She assumes her new post approximately July 1, 2007.

 

During her tenure at Kansas State, Hubbard contributed to two target programs of excellence at the university – the Center for the Understanding of Origins and the African Studies Center. Her expertise lies in the field of structural geology and tectonics, and she has completed field research in Senegal, New Zealand, France, Pakistan, Nepal, Norway and throughout the American West.

 

A native of the Chicago area, Hubbard earned a bachelor’s degree in geology from the University of Colorado and completed her doctorate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

 

Hubbard said she looks forward to her new post and to becoming better acquainted with Cache Valley. “My family and I are excited about the opportunity to come to Logan and to join the Utah State University community,” she said. “The faculty members of the College of Science have an impressive record of research and teaching accomplishments. I will be proud to work with this group as the College moves to even greater heights in research development and in the training of the next generation of young scientists. The enthusiasm and integrity of the leadership at USU provide the framework for a bright future. I am honored to be joining this wonderful team.”

 

Hubbard’s appointment is the culmination of an exhaustive, nationwide search that began in August 2006. Coward enlisted a nine-member search and screening committee representing the college’s students, faculty and staff to oversee and conduct the search process. Chaired by USU College of Natural Resources Dean Nat B. Frazer, the committee explored the candidacies of approximately 125 individuals nominated for the position.

 

“This has been a very thorough and comprehensive selection process,” said Coward. “The university is very grateful to Dean Frazer and the committee members for their conscientious and dedicated efforts. Our final success in identifying this extraordinary scientist and academic leader is a direct result of the hard work of the search and screening committee.”

 

Hubbard succeeds Donald Fiesinger, who has served as dean of the college for nearly seven years. He announced his decision to step down from the post last summer.

 

Fiesinger was named interim dean in 2000, following the appointment of former dean James MacMahon as vice president for university advancement. Fiesinger was appointed dean in 2003. He returns to the faculty of the college’s department of geology, which he joined in 1976 and for which he served as head for 18 years.

 

More than 1,400 undergraduates and more than 250 graduate and doctoral students are enrolled in degree programs administered by the college.

 

 

Contact: Raymond T. Coward [raymond.coward@usu.edu], 435-797-1166