Message from the Dean / Shapiro appointed to interim provost

Message from the Dean

It is with tremendous pride that I invite you to read about several notable accomplishments achieved by our students and faculty in the pages to follow.

The College of Humanities and Social and Behavioral Sciences encompasses a diverse and successful group of academic departments and programs. Although their research interests may differ, our students and faculty share a dedication to excellence and a passion for learning.

Our nationally-acclaimed neuroscientists continue to work side-by-side with their students to test potential new treatments for debilitating brain diseases such as Huntington’s, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.

Through a partnership with Cerise Nutraceuticals, CMU faculty and students are studying whether antioxidants in tart cherries and omega-3 essential fatty acids from emu and fish oils can be used to treat neurodegenerative diseases.

• Likewise, our students are eager to make active learning an important part of their CMU experience.

• Students in the Introduction to Museum Work course last fall developed a new museum exhibit – the first in 13 years – that highlights many of the hidden treasures housed in CMU’s Museum of Cultural and Natural History.

• Political science graduate student Timothy Burger completed a competitive internship program at the White House.

• Graduate students in the English department’s Composition and Communication program are completing historical editing projects to transcribe and describe letters and journals that belonged to their ancestors.

Finally, I am excited to announce that our efforts to establish an endowed lecture series to promote integrity and ethics in politics have been successful during the first phase of our fundraising campaign. To date more than $500,000 has been pledged to establish the Philip A. Hart and William G. Milliken Endowed Speaker Series for Integrity in Politics. I welcome you to join us in this important endeavor.

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Shapiro appointed to interim provost

Associate dean Pamela Gates named interim dean

President Michael Rao appointed Gary Shapiro, dean of the College of Humanities and Social and Behavioral Sciences, to serve as CMU’s interim executive vice president/provost while the university conducts a national search to replace outgoing provost Tom Storch, who left the university in January.

“With his long history and working knowledge of CMU combined with his commitment to high academic standards, integrity, work ethic, and administrative experience, I’m confident that Gary Shapiro will do a very good job during the interim period as provost,” said Rao.

Shapiro has been a sociology professor since 1978 and an administrator at CMU since 1989. He has served as director of institutional research, assistant vice provost of institutional research and planning, and associate dean of arts and sciences. Shapiro also was interim registrar in 1994-95 and was appointed CHSBS dean in July 1997.

CHSBS associate dean Pamela Gates was named interim dean, and history professor Mitchell Hall was named interim associate dean.

Gates is an English professor and has taught at CMU since 1987. She was appointed CHSBS associate dean in 2001. Her teaching and research areas focus on English education and literature for children and young adults.  She has co-authored two books, more than a dozen articles, and currently is working with Jane Briggs Hart to write her biography.

Hall joined the history department in 1989. He has served as the executive editor of Peace and Change and has published four books. His research deals primarily with the Vietnam War era, and he regularly teaches courses on United States history since World War II, the Vietnam War, and the history of the rock and roll era.

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