The University of Colorado has decided to go in a different direction with the leadership of the College of Arts and Sciences, selecting the director of the school’s Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research to take over as dean rather than keeping Steven Leigh in the job.
CU announced the decision Tuesday, with Provost Russell Moore telling the Daily Camera that he made the call for a shift after talking it over with Leigh for about a month and taking Leigh’s five-year review into consideration.
Leigh will join the university’s anthropology faculty.
“We made the decision to make a leadership change to try to take us to the next level,” Moore said. “Steve has had a good five-year run.”
James White, whose official dean duties begin Aug. 16, has served as an INSTAAR fellow since 1989 and is tenured faculty in geological sciences and environmental studies.
Moore stressed that Leigh made great strides in “one of the toughest jobs on campus.”
“He left the place a whole lot better than when he came to it,” Moore said. “I think amazing progress has been made under his leadership. Now we’re looking at the next one, three and five years on campus, and I thought it would be best for the university to make the change.”
Leigh described positive feelings about the move, saying he’s looking forward to focusing on new research opportunities. His next undertaking: a project about microbiomes in hunter and gatherer populations in Africa.
“I’m really proud of the accomplishments I’ve made in the last five years and very committed to the future of the institution and moving forward,” he said.
Weighing on Moore’s decision was the idea of needing a bigger campus discussion on how CU prepares to be a leading university, particularly when it comes to its role as a research institution.
Moore highlighted White’s interdisciplinary expertise as being key in this endeavor.
“Jim is a great collaborator, and I think he has university context,” Moore said. “He’s well-recognized as being a good collaborator across all schools and colleges.”
Moore tapped White about taking command of the college just last week, he said.
“It was crucial that we found a strong leader to carry on the momentum for the college,” Moore wrote in a CU news release. “Jim is a nationally known and well-respected climate and geological scientist who has provided excellent leadership to INSTAAR, CU Boulder’s oldest institute, for the past nine years. I am confident he will continue the success of A&S.”
White said he never saw this promotion coming, but he’s eager to dive in head first.
“I always wanted to help in any way I could for the university to be the best it could be,” White said. “If that includes being dean, then I’m OK with that. I’m willing to take that on.”
White is still absorbing the news and hopes to meet with faculty and staff soon to help get the lay of the land.
“You don’t really know what’s going on inside the sausage factory until you go in and see what’s being made,” he said.
As he gets his footing, White said he’s confident his passion for higher education will guide him in the right direction.
After the recent retirement of dean of the University Libraries Jim Williams who served in that role since 1988, Leigh’s five-year tenure made him the most senior dean on campus. Now, Moore said, Robert Shay, the dean of the College of Music, is the longest serving dean on campus, having been tapped to serve in 2014.
Elizabeth Hernandez: 303-473-1106, hernandeze@dailycamera.com, twitter.com/ehernandez
