After a nationwide search, Ohio University ended up looking across the state for its new dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.
Robert Frank was named successor to current Interim Dean Howard Dewald, according to a university news release late Friday afternoon.
“This autumn has been a very exciting time for me as I learned more about Ohio University and the College of Arts and Sciences," Frank said in the release. "I have always had a positive opinion of the University, and this opinion was only enhanced by my interactions with students, faculty and staff during the recruitment process."
Frank, a psychology professor, is associate dean for research and graduate studies in the McMicken College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Cincinnati.
"Dr. Frank embodies all the best traditions of the college," Executive Vice President and Provost Pam Benoit said in the release. "He is a scholar-teacher who understands the value and necessity of having a multidisciplinary community grounded in curiosity, discourse and rigorous analysis at the heart of a large public university."
Frank was chosen over Dewald, the current interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences; and Beate Schmittmann, the Department of Physics chair at Virginia Tech.
Dewald will continue to serve as interim dean until next August, said Ann Fidler, Benoit's chief of staff.
Dewald said he plans to remain at OU after next August. While serving as interim dean and associate dean before that, he taught one course a year.
During his career at Cincinnati, Frank served as associate vice president and associate university dean of the Office of Research and Advanced Studies; associate dean of the Graduate School; and interim dean of the Graduate School.
He has worked as associate dean for Research and Graduate Studies at Cincinnati since 2008.
There are 4,266 undergraduate students and 846 graduate students in 19 departments of the College of Arts and Sciences, OU's largest college.
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