Hodge is A & S interim dean; Simpson takes position at UCSC

David Hodge, divisional dean in the College of Arts and Sciences, will serve as acting dean while the University conducts a national search for a successor to John Simpson, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, who recently accepted the position of executive vice chancellor at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

“John Simpson has provided outstanding academic leadership for the College of Arts and Sciences,” President Richard L. McCormick said, in making the announcement. “He has served this University very well for more than two decades, and his strengths at the helm of the University’s largest college have made him a highly sought-after University leader. His departure is a great loss for the UW. I wish John well in his new position.”

Simpson, in a letter to his colleagues, said, “This has been . . . perhaps the most trying decision I have made in my adult life. In no small part this is because I have been a faculty member here for 22 years, and I have had considerable pleasure from my many friends in the University as well as within the wider community . . . I also have a continuing admiration for the remarkable strengths of the University of Washington. My departure is in no way a statement of leaving this university because I see difficulties ahead; rather, it is because of the extraordinary opportunity that UCSC at this time affords.”

Hodge, 49, has been divisional dean for computing, facilities and research since 1996. He has a bachelor’s degree from Macalester College (1970) and a master’s (1973) and doctorate (1975) from the Pennsylvania State University. He became an assistant professor of geography at the UW in 1975, associate professor in 1981, and professor in 1992. He served as department chair from 1995 to 1997. Hodge’s research has focused on urban geography, transportation geography, information technology and quantitative methods. Hodge received the UW’s Distinguished Teaching Award in 1990.

With 41 degree-granting departments, schools and programs, the College of Arts and Sciences provides a breadth of educational opportunity in programs ranging from dance and English to genetics and geography. More than 22,000 students enroll in the college’s programs each year, making it by far the largest college in the university.

Simpson will assume the post at UCSC July 1. He was selected following a national search to replace Dr. R. Michael Tanner, who has served in the position for more than nine years.

“We are delighted that John has accepted the invitation to join us,” noted Chancellor M.R.C. Greenwood. “He has demonstrated exceptional leadership in his present post, and we are excited by the addition of his energy and considerable talents to the UCSC team.”

Simpson plans to spend his first weeks in Santa Cruz getting to know the campus and his new colleagues. When asked about his expectations for his first activities, he responded, “I look forward to helping define the academic niches in which UCSC has, or is gaining, exceptional distinction. I see the potential for some very interesting academic planning, but I can’t make any projections about specific directions the campus might take, until I’ve learned more. I want to get to know UC Santa Cruz from top to bottom, starting with the people.”

Simpson graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a B.A. in psychology. He earned master’s and doctoral degrees in neurobiology and behavior at Northwestern University. Prior to his arrival at the UW, he worked for two years at the University of Pennsylvania as a research associate of the Institute of Neurological Sciences and a lecturer in the department of psychology. He has served as Visiting Professor of Physiology at the UC San Francisco School of Medicine and at the Howard Florey Institute of Experimental Physiology and Medicine in Melbourne, Australia. In addition to service on numerous academic committees and in the Academic Senate at the University of Washington, he is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Pilchuck Glass School and the Intiman Theater Company and is a director of the Henry Art Gallery.

Simpson will move to the area with his wife, Diane. They have two adult children, Matthew, 29, and Melissa, 26.¶

Bob Roseth, News and Information