Andrew Webber named new vice provost for graduate education

Arizona State University professor of molecular and cellular biosciences Andrew Webber has been named vice provost for graduate education. He was previously associate vice provost for graduate support programs in the Graduate College.

As vice provost for graduate education, Webber will provide central leadership, in collaboration with the other deans, to foster the highest level of excellence and diversity in ASU’s graduate programs. He will be responsible for making recommendations on new curricular programs and also will assist the deans and the provost in all issues connected to graduate students from admissions through graduation.

“Professor Webber has proven himself as an academic leader in the graduate college, as well as in the School of Life Sciences,” said ASU Executive Vice President and Provost Elizabeth D. Phillips. “He has provided exceptional service to the university and is the perfect person to work with the units in establishing and maintaining superb graduate programs.”

As associate vice provost, a position he held since 2007, Webber was responsible for oversight of graduate support initiatives, including university block grants, research and dissertation fellowships, academic program reviews and accreditation, center and institute reviews, and graduate diversity initiatives.

Previously, Webber served as associate dean of the Division of Graduate Studies, director of the Center for the Study of Early Events in Photosynthesis and associate director for the School of Life Sciences. 

“It is an honor to have this opportunity to continue to serve ASU's graduate students as vice provost. I sincerely look forward to working with our outstanding faculty and staff as we continue to advance graduate education at ASU,” Webber said.

Webber has been a member of several National Science Foundation and United States Department of Agriculture grant review panels, and currently serves as associate editor for the international journals, Photosynthesis Research and PLoS One.

Webber’s research in the School of Life Sciences focuses on the molecular mechanisms of photosynthetic energy transduction and chloroplast development. A long-standing project has focused on understanding relationships between protein structure and function in photosynthetic systems. In particular, his students have investigated control of energy and electron transfer pathways in photosynthetic organisms using a range of molecular and biophysical approaches. 

Webber received his bachelor's in biological chemistry and his doctorate in biology from the University of Essex, Colchester, UK.