| Michael
Whiteford, who has served as interim dean of the College
of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Iowa State since last September,
will fill the position permanently beginning April 1.
Whiteford has 32 years of experience at Iowa State as a professor
of anthropology,
department chair, and associate dean for administration for the
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. He replaces Peter Rabideau,
who accepted the position of provost and vice president for academic
affairs at Mississippi State University in July, 2003.
"Mike Whiteford has maintained the highest level of excellence
as a scholar, teacher and administrator in his long and distinguished
career at Iowa State University," said ISU President Gregory
Geoffroy. "He is clearly an outstanding choice to lead the
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Iowa State's largest and broadest
college."
Whiteford's appointment follows a six-month national search in which
four finalists were identified. The other finalists included Shari
Benstock, professor of English and women's studies, University of
Miami; Wolfgang Kliemann, associate vice provost for research and
professor of mathematics, Iowa State; and Peter Sherwood, University
Distinguished Professor and head of chemistry, Kansas State University.
Mark Engelbrecht, dean of the College of Design, headed the 23-member
search committee.
"Dr. Whiteford is greatly respected as a leader, researcher
and teacher," said Benjamin Allen, vice president for academic
affairs and provost. "We are pleased that he will continue
to serve Iowa State, as he has done so capably for more than three
decades."
Recruiting and retaining a diverse faculty is among Whiteford's
goals as LAS dean.
Whiteford joined the Iowa State faculty in 1972. His research interests
focus on alternative curing practices and healthcare decision-making
processes in Latin America. He has worked in Colombia, Costa Rica,
Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico.
He is co-author (with John Friedl) of an introductory anthropology
textbook, The Human Portrait. With his brother, Scott,
he edited Crossing Currents: Continuity and Change in Latin
America.
Whiteford also has edited the Society for Applied Anthropology's
quarterly newsletter for the past nine years. He has taught 17 courses
at Iowa State.
Whiteford earned a bachelor's degree from Beloit College, Wisconsin,
in 1967 and master's (1970) and doctorate (1972) degrees from the
University of California, Berkeley.
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