For
Immediate Release:
August 31, 2005MHC Names Sean Decatur
Associate Dean of Faculty for Science
Sean Decatur, Marilyn Dawson Sarles, M.D. Professor of Life Sciences
and Professor of Chemistry, was named to the newly created position
of Associate Dean of Faculty for Science. "Sean will take
on an increasing role in ensuring our excellence in science and
mathematics and in helping us decide how to best allocate our resources," said
Mount Holyoke Dean of Faculty Don O'Shea. The position, formerly
the Director of the Science Center, will be a half-time position
filled by faculty members on a rotating basis.
"I'm excited about working closely with faculty, staff, and
departments on ways in which the College can support the curriculum
and research
in the sciences. The construction of the science center has created
physical adjacency among the science departments, and this allows
for much closer cooperation," Decatur said. "My role
is to facilitate that cooperation whenever possible." Decatur
will oversee the allocation of resources, space and budget as they
relate to the sciences, in addition to managing the science center.
Completed in 2003, the College's new $36 million science center
was designed to foster greater interaction among departments and
encourages collaborative research and innovative teaching methods.
The new facility offers adjacent labs and offices and shared equipment
for students and faculty with overlapping research interests. "We
are now in a better position to take advantage of synergies, whether
it's departments working together in summer research programs,
writing grant proposals for shared equipment, or experimenting
with new curricular activities," said Decatur.
Crossing the boundaries of biology, chemistry, and physics, Decatur's
work looks at how chains of amino acids transform themselves into
three-dimensional proteins. Mishaps in that protein-folding transformation
are linked to diseases such as mad cow and Alzheimer's. Decatur's
research has been supported by over a million dollars in grants,
including an NSF CAREER Award. He is a superb teacher at all levels
of the chemistry curriculum and is an innovator in curriculum development
for science and nonscience students alike. His many initiatives
include a series of talks on race and science and a course exploring
ethical, social, and political questions about such topics as bioengineered
food and gene therapy.
