Dear Carolina Community,
We are very pleased to announce that Dr. Kevin Guskiewicz has been appointed the 22nd dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, effective January 1, 2016. An extremely accomplished researcher and teacher, Kevin has most recently served UNC-Chapel Hill as Senior Associate Dean of the College with responsibility for the natural sciences. He emerged as the top candidate among a very distinguished and competitive group of finalists.
In his senior associate dean role, he has ably led the natural sciences during a time of great change, including a pedagogical revolution in the teaching of science. He has helped UNC-Chapel Hill become one of the leading institutions in the country for new teaching models in the sciences. Kevin’s vision for the immediate and long-term future of the College inspired the search committee, as well as his warm and engaging personality and management style that have also endeared him to students and colleagues throughout the College and across the University.
He also is the Kenan Distinguished Professor of Exercise and Sport Science and co-director of the Matthew Gfeller Sport-Related Traumatic Brain Injury Research Center and director of the Center for the Study of Retired Athletes. A Carolina faculty member for 20 years, he holds appointments in the department of orthopaedics, department of physical medicine and rehabilitation, UNC Injury Prevention Research Center and doctoral program in human movement science. The quintessential interdisciplinary scholar and experienced academic leader, he has served on the Faculty Executive Committee from 2009 to 2014 and was selected as the 2013 winter commencement speaker.
Kevin has received many honors for his groundbreaking work, including fellowships in the American College of Sports Medicine, the National Academy of Kinesiology and the National Athletic Trainers’ Association. His research has influenced concussion guidelines and recommendations made by these organizations as well as the NCAA and the NFL. He was named to the NCAA’s Concussion Committee, the NFL Players Association’s Mackey-White Committee and the NFL’s Head, Neck, and Spine Committee. In 2011, he was awarded a prestigious MacArthur Fellowship for his innovative work on the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of sport-related concussions. He has used that award to help improve safety in high school sports and to help our military identify and treat serious head injuries.
We would like to thank Dean Karen M. Gil for her outstanding leadership of the College, and we appreciate her staying at the helm longer than she had planned before she rejoins the faculty in her home department of psychology and neuroscience. We also would like to thank the members of the search committee and chair Ron Strauss, executive vice provost and chief international officer, for identifying such a strong candidate pool.
Our vibrant College, home to the majority of all our undergraduates, provides a critical foundation for learning and discovery every day. Please join us in offering sincerest congratulations to Kevin, who represents the very best of Carolina in his teaching, research and service. We look forward to his continued leadership on our campus.
Chancellor
James W. Dean, Jr.
Provost