Langland to step down as dean, vice provost in June

Langland will remain at ASU to teach and conduct research

Elizabeth Langland, vice provost and dean of the New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, has announced her plans to step down from those posts effective June 30, 2013. She will remain at ASU to teach and continue her research.

Joseph Carter, associate dean for the W. P. Carey School of Business at the West campus, has been named to succeed Langland in her vice provost duties in July 2013. In the meantime, Carter will assist Langland with community outreach initiatives on behalf of the campus.

In the near future, the university will form a search committee and initiate a search internal to ASU to replace Langland as dean of New College.

Since her arrival in 2007, Langland has guided New College and the West campus through a period of significant growth and transformation. Under her leadership, New College has developed a focused mission reflecting the vision of ASU President Michael M. Crow. Adapting a classic model for high-quality colleges around the United States, New College has emerged as an outstanding interdisciplinary arts and sciences school on a campus enriched by schools of business and education.

“Dean Langland has played a vital role in leading New College and the West campus through a period of great advances,” said Crow. “I want to thank her for all she has accomplished for the university and our students. I know she is eager to return to the classroom and to her research, and we are delighted that she has chosen to do so at ASU.”

“Dean Langland has brought excellent faculty and students to the West campus as well as a strong campus spirit,” said Elizabeth D. Phillips, university provost and executive vice president. “She is a deep intellectual and an excellent manager – a rare combination. We will miss her in the administration and we are very pleased we will still benefit from her scholarly contributions.”

Langland’s tenure has been a period of significant advancement for New College, which has pioneered interdisciplinary research clusters and theme-based common general education, as well as funded undergraduate research. Under Langland’s leadership, New College has developed new undergraduate majors and new master’s programs, multiplied its research and fundraising dollars, and added substantial numbers of new faculty to teach the increasing numbers of students it has recruited.

New College has evolved from a small liberal arts college with relatively traditional departments to a thriving college with three truly interdisciplinary schools.

There have been physical improvements to the West campus as well. Several new buildings have been constructed to serve students, including a new student residential facility, Casa de Oro, which is specifically designed to help freshman students thrive in a university setting. A new dining commons also has opened, and in January 2013 West campus students will have access to state-of-the-art wellness and fitness resources with the opening of the Sun Devil Fitness Complex.

“I have appreciated greatly the extraordinary opportunity to work with President Crow and Provost Phillips to build the New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences and the West campus as part of the One University in Many Places that is Arizona State today,” Langland said. “It has been an honor to join so many wonderful students, faculty, staff, and administrators to create the vibrant and dynamic environment that we now enjoy. I will certainly miss these opportunities and connections, but I look forward to returning to the passions that first brought me into the academy: research, writing and teaching.”

Langland has remained active as a scholar throughout her career. Specializing in Victorian literature, feminist and gender theory, cultural studies, and theory of the novel, Langland is the author or editor of eight books and numerous articles. She continues to write scholarly articles, and in recent years has brought the analytical skills honed in literature and theory increasingly to bear upon higher education and its challenges.

Langland previously held administrative positions at Purchase College, State University of New York; the University of California at Davis; the University of Florida; and Converse College in South Carolina. She began her academic career at Vanderbilt University after receiving her bachelor's degree in English from Barnard College and her master's and doctorate degrees in English literature from the University of Chicago.

Carter, who will step into the role of West campus vice provost, is the Avnet Professor of Supply Chain Management in the W. P. Carey School of Business. He said he looks forward to continuing the process of embedding the West campus within the community as a learning center that features top-notch faculty and innovative programs.

“The West Valley is an engine of growth for central Arizona and the logistics hub of the Southwest, with companies such as Amazon, UPS, Target, Wal-Mart, Swift Transportation, and Knight Transportation, to name just a few, thriving in the area,” Carter said. “The West campus will aggressively engage these large firms and small businesses as ‘partners’ for both the campus and Arizona State University.

“As part of a great urban university, the campus will leverage its size and place to help all citizens of Arizona prosper. ASU has invested tremendous resources in the West campus as our long-term commitment to the communities and citizens that we impact.”

Carter is founding chair of ASU’s Supply Chain Management Department. He came to ASU in 1991 after holding a faculty position at Michigan State University. Carter holds a DBA degree in operations management from the Boston University Graduate School of Management and is recognized as a Certified Professional in Supply Management and a Certified Purchasing Manager by the Institute for Supply Management.