Lincoln (Neb.) - Oct. 12, 2000 - Richard J. "Dick" Hoffmann, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the State University of New York at Albany, has been named dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Pending approval by the NU board of regents, Hoffmann will begin his term Feb. 1. He replaces Brian Foster, who left in the spring to become vice president and provost at the University of New Mexico. Linda Pratt, chair of the English department, is the interim dean of Arts and Sciences.
"I'm delighted that Dick Hoffmann has agreed to be our next dean of Arts and Sciences. It's a very important hire for us," said David Brinkerhoff, acting senior vice chancellor for academic affairs. "The College of Arts and Sciences is a critical element of the university and the strength of the university is reflected in the strength of Arts and Sciences.
"Bringing in a strong leader like Dick is very important for the future of the college. He brings to the table the experience and skills necessary for the kinds of things we need to move forward on, issues that are important to the college - and issues, I might add, that have continued to be advanced under the very able leadership of Linda Pratt."
Hoffmann, who has been dean of Arts and Sciences at SUNY-Albany since 1998, said he was attracted to Nebraska by the quality of UNL's academic programs and the commitment of the state of Nebraska to the university.
"I understand the land-grant mission and I know about universities like this after spending 18 years on the faculty and as an administrator at Iowa State," Hoffmann said. "This is sort of like the University of Iowa and Iowa State rolled into one in the sense that the humanities and social sciences were strong at the University of Iowa, and Iowa State was the science- and technology-oriented institution. The fuller array of programs in Arts and Sciences here is appealing to me."
A biologist, Hoffmann earned his bachelor's degree in 1969 with high honors at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va., and his master's (1971) and doctorate (1974) at Stanford University. After a year as postdoctoral scholar at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, he began his academic career in 1976 as an assistant professor of biological sciences at the University of Pittsburgh.
He moved on to Iowa State University in 1980 as associate professor of zoology and genetics, and was promoted to professor in 1987. In his 18 years at ISU, Hoffmann served as associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences from 1993 to 1997 and interim dean of the college in 1997-98. In the 1989-90 academic year, he was a visiting scholar at the University of Michigan on a Mid-career Fellowship from the National Science Foundation.
A fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science since 1990, Hoffmann is well-known for his work on the genetics of adaptation. His research has been supported continually by outside funds, primarily from the National Science Foundation.
"One of the things I have to offer is experience in the collaboration between agriculture and arts and sciences programs from my work in the administration at Iowa State," Hoffmann said. "It's clear that the university needs more interaction than it currently has between those groups of faculty. The issues that the Life Sciences Task Force report raises about an integrated curriculum and so on are all important issues to be raised and to be dealt with head-on if Nebraska is going to be the kind of university that it wants to be. I was very interested in the appointment of John Owens as vice chancellor for the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources. I regard that appointment as critical not only to the success of the institute, but also the College of Arts and Sciences."
Hoffmann said his and Owens' paths have not crossed previously,
although ironically they had offices in the same building at Iowa State,
only at different time periods. Owens, who takes over as IANR vice
chancellor and vice president Jan. 1, was at ISU from 1971 to 1975.
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