Henry L. “Roddy” Roediger III, Ph.D., the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor in psychology in Arts & Sciences, has been appointed dean of academic planning for Arts & Sciences, announced Edward S. Macias, Ph.D., executive vice chancellor, dean of Arts & Sciences and the Barbara and David Thomas Distinguished Professor in Arts & Sciences.
Roediger will work closely in this new capacity with associate vice chancellor Gerhild Scholz Williams, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Germanic Languages & Literatures in Arts & Sciences, the Barbara Schaps Thomas and David M. Thomas Professor in the Humanities and special assistant to the chancellor for academic affairs.
The pair will co-chair Arts & Sciences’ newly appointed task force on graduate education and will coordinate their efforts with the Academic Planning Committee.
“As faculty members, Roddy and Gerhild bring valuable perspectives to the Arts & Sciences administrative team,” Macias said. “Their charge is to think broadly about academic priorities and strategic planning, with the goal of making Arts & Sciences the finest teaching and research institution possible.”
Macias also announced that senior analyst Lynn O. McCloskey will take on additional duties as assistant dean of Arts & Sciences, and that Michelle L. Milligan has been appointed an assistant dean of Arts & Sciences.
“Lynn is a valued colleague and a marvelous analyst whose work has frequently become a model adopted by the entire University,” Macias said. “Shelley also brings a lot of experience to the table, having worked on development issues with many of our faculty as well as alumni from around the country. I am extremely pleased to recognize Lynn’s important work for Arts & Sciences and to welcome Shelley to our team.”
McCloskey arrived at the University in 1990 as a budget analyst in financial planning, was promoted to senior analyst in 1993 and joined Arts & Sciences the following year.
As assistant dean, she will continue to track a variety of internal and external data, including faculty and student trends, admissions, enrollment and financial aid. She will work closely with department chairs to inform policy and planning.
McCloskey will also counsel analysts from individual departments and coordinate the University’s participation in institutional research data exchanges.
Milligan, who arrived at the University in 2002 as associate director of development for Arts & Sciences in alumni & development, will serve as liaison to both that office and to the Arts & Sciences National Council.
In addition, she will oversee external and internal communications efforts — including the Arts & Sciences newsletter — identifying ways in which to best convey the importance of faculty and student activities.
Roediger arrived at the University in the summer of 1996 as chair of the Department of Psychology, coming from Rice University, where he had been the Lynette S. Autrey Professor of Psychology since 1988.
Internationally recognized for his research on human learning and memory — especially for studies exploring how knowledge is recovered from memory — Roediger is the author of three books and approximately 150 articles. He also is the editor of three volumes and was founding editor of the Psychonomic Bulletin & Review.
Roediger, who recently stepped down as the psychology chair, is immediate past present of the American Psychological Society, the leading organization of academic psychologists in the United States, of which he is a founding member. He has chaired the Society of Experimental Psychologists and the governing board of the Psychonomic Society, and has served as president of the Midwestern Psychological Association.
Williams came to the University in 1975 as an assistant professor of Germanic languages & literatures and comparative literature, both in Arts & Sciences. Six years later, she was named associate professor.
In 1987, she became a full professor in the German department, which she chaired from 1988-92 and again from 2003-present.
From 1989-1996, Williams also served as associate provost and in 1997 was named associate vice chancellor and special assistant to the chancellor for academic affairs.
Williams is the author of five books and numerous articles. A member of several professional organizations, she is the recipient of national and international research fellowships, including a Fulbright Senior Scholar Research Grant and a National Endowment for the Humanities’ Summer Research Grant.
As of this month, Williams has assumed the presidency of the Sixteenth Century Studies Association.