Berkeleyan

Two top campus administrators named

06 June 2007

Chancellor Robert Birgeneau has announced the appointment of Andrew Szeri as dean of the Graduate Division and of Sheldon Zedeck as vice provost for academic affairs and faculty welfare. Each appointment is effective July 1.

Szeri, a professor of mechanical engineering, has served as the Graduate Division's associate dean since July 2005. He has played the leading role in preparing the campus for the coming once-a-decade national rankings of graduate programs conducted by the National Research Council. He has also worked in fundraising, financial planning, and IT security for the division.

Andrew Szeri (Peg Skorpinski photo)

As dean he will be the chief advocate for graduate education, teaching, and research at Berkeley, working closely with the Graduate Council of the Academic Senate on policy and procedure related to graduate education. The dean also collaborates with other campus committees and units to ensure the high quality of graduate programs at Berkeley and to increase support for graduate students.

"Andrew Szeri has a distinguished career of engagement on issues surrounding graduate education, and interest in the welfare of graduate students," said Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost George Breslauer, who oversees the Graduate Division. "He has an impressive ability to build consensus and to deal effectively with delicate issues, and has a reputation for being an excellent listener who can respond quickly and cogently to issues in graduate education."

Szeri will succeed Mary Ann Mason, who has held the deanship since 2000. Mason, a professor of social welfare, is stepping down on June 30 and returning to teaching and research.

A specialist in fluid dynamics, Szeri, 43, has been on the Berkeley faculty since 1997. He has been active in faculty service on the department, college, and UC-wide levels since his arrival at Berkeley from UC Irvine. He has served as chair of Berkeley's Graduate Council and on key committees dealing with student services, enrollment balance, and graduate-student-instructor affairs.

A solid grasp of the challenges

Zedeck, a professor of psychology who has been on the Berkeley faculty since 1970, is currently vice chair of the Berkeley Division of the Academic Senate.

Sheldon Zedeck (Academic Senate photo)

The vice provost for academic affairs and faculty welfare oversees all aspects of the academic-personnel process at Berkeley, with a range of authority encompassing issues of faculty recruitment, development, compensation, and retention. He will also direct work toward faculty equity and compliance, and will guide interdisciplinary units including the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, the Energy and Resources Group, and the UC Berkeley Retirement Center.

"In Shelly Zedeck we have an excellent and experienced academic administrator - one who solidly grasps the challenges of recruiting and retaining an excellent faculty and has demonstrated high competence in addressing them," said Breslauer. "He is experienced working effectively with faculty from many disciplines, displaying the good judgment, diplomacy, and clarity of vision that his new position demands."

A specialist in industrial and organizational psychology, research design, and psychological measurement and statistics, Zedeck, 62, has served as director of the Institute of Industrial Relations at Berkeley (1988-92) and twice as chair of the psychology department (1993-98 and 2003-04).

He will succeed Jan de Vries, who has held the vice-provost post since its creation in 2000. De Vries, a professor of history, will return to teaching and research.