University of Colorado at Boulder Provost Phil DiStefano has approved a search committee recommendation nominating Todd Gleeson as the new dean of the College of Arts and Sciences pending approval of the Board of Regents at the board's May meeting.
A professor of environmental, population and organismic biology, Gleeson has served as interim dean of the university's largest college since the departure last summer of former Dean Peter Spear. Spear is now provost at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Before becoming interim dean, Gleeson was associate vice chancellor for academic affairs.
"I look forward to working with Todd and the faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences," said DiStefano. "Todd's knowledge of the campus and the strengths of the departments will be a valuable asset as he begins his tenure as dean."
The search committee nominated Gleeson in March, following a national search, and forwarded the recommendation to DiStefano as a unanimously endorsed sole finalist. DiStefano then conducted interviews with faculty members and administrators in the arts and sciences college and throughout the university.
The College of Arts and Sciences has 35 departments plus 31 programs, 723 faculty and almost 15,000 students. Gleeson, an expert in skeletal muscle and animal physiology, has been a professor in the college for 21 years.