Mark Turner, one of the most influential and interdisciplinary scholars in the country, will join Case Western Reserve University March 1 as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.

Turner, who is on leave from the University of Maryland where he is a distinguished university professor, currently serves as the associate director of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University.

"Dr. Turner is one of the most influential and interdisciplinary scholars in the nation," Hundert said. "His innovative work on human cognition bridges the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences and will help fulfill the university's vision to become the most powerful learning environment in the world."

Turner said he is invigorated by the vision of the university and the talent of its faculty, staff and students.

"Case is reinventing education," Turner said. "I look forward to leading the College of Arts and Sciences as it continues its journey in rethinking liberal education and learning."

As both academic and operational leader for the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford, Turner has responsibility for all budgeting, fundraising, personnel management, selection of fellows, information technology and planning.

At the University of Maryland, he serves in the department of English language and literature and
the doctoral program in neuroscience and cognitive science.

Turner earned two bachelor's degrees at the University of California, Berkeley, in English and mathematics, both with distinction. He continued on at Berkeley to earn master's degrees in both fields as well and then a doctorate in English.

"Dr. Turner is the leading example of interdisciplinary scholarship in the world," Hundert said. "He will be a visionary dean who will lead not just the College of Arts and Sciences but the university in reinventing liberal learning for the 21st century."

During his career, Turner has been a fellow of the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, the National Humanities Center and the Institute for Advanced Study (School of Social Sciences) at Princeton, in addition to having been elected a fellow of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences twice.

He is a laureate of the Académie française and has held visiting appointments at the University of California, San Diego; Stanford; the Collège de France; and universities throughout Europe.

Turner has been a professor at the University of Maryland since 1992 and was named one of the university's 25 distinguished university professors in 2001. He has set new academic directions for programs at the University of Maryland and at interdisciplinary centers around the country.

Case's national search committee reviewed many candidates for the position. Turner emerged as the finalist and completed a final round of meetings with members of the College of Arts and Sciences and leaders of University Circle.

Return to the online edition of the 10-9-03 Campus News.