Dear Colleagues,
I take great pleasure in announcing the results of our search for a new Dean of the College of Liberal Arts. As you know, the search committee was chaired by Dean Raymond Lorion of the College of Education with membership from a cross section of faculty and with representation from staff and students. A total of 33 active applicants were considered, about 10 of whom were further pursued for reference checks, and three outstanding individuals were invited for campus visits. I met on 20 March 2006 with the Search Committee for a very constructive discussion of the strengths of each of the finalists. After consultation with President Caret, I offered the position to Dr. Terry A. Cooney, currently the Robert G. Albertson Professor of History at the University of Puget Sound. Dr. Cooney has accepted our offer and will assume the position on 1 July 2006.
Dr. Cooney has a distinguished career of effective teaching, recognized scholarly achievement, and broad based administrative experience. He graduated from Harvard College in 1970 and pursued graduate work in history at SUNY Stony Brook, and received his Ph.D. from that institution in 1976. He joined the University of Puget Sound as an assistant professor in 1976, moving through the faculty ranks to appointment as full professor in 1988. From 1989 to 1995, he served as Associate Academic Dean of the University of Puget Sound. From 1997 to 2004, he served as Academic Vice President and Dean of the University, and during the spring semester of 2001, he served as Acting President of the University of Puget Sound during a presidential sabbatical.
Dr. Cooney is the author of two books, The Rise of the New York Intellectuals: Partisan Review and Its Circle (University of Wisconsin Press, 1986) and Balancing Acts: American Thought and Culture in the 1930s (Twayne Publishers, 1986). The author of numerous essays and book reviews, he has presented his research before diverse academic and general audiences on various topics of 20th century history and culture.
President Caret joins me and the academic leadership of Towson University in welcoming Dr. Cooney, and I hope all of you will have the opportunity to meet with him personally in the weeks and months ahead.
Finally, I want to take this opportunity to thank the search committee for their hard work in bringing this process to such a successful conclusion.
Thank you,
James F. Brennan
Provost
