José Fernández Appointed Dean of the College of Arts and Humanities, Effective Fall 2006
By Tom Evelyn (tevelyn@mail.ucf.edu, 407-823-5988)

ORLANDO, December 2005 -- José B. Fernández, who has served as associate dean of the former College of Arts and Sciences since 1999, will become dean of the new College of Arts and Humanities next fall, University of Central Florida Provost Terry Hickey announced Thursday.

Kathryn Seidel, who has been dean of Arts and Sciences for 10 years, announced Wednesday that she will resign effective Aug. 7 to return to teaching. Fernández, who will become the first Hispanic dean at UCF, will immediately take on a larger administrative role and work side-by-side with Seidel in the new college as he prepares to assume his new role.

“José Fernández brings a wealth of experience to this leadership position. He has the skills required to lead the college through the transition and beyond. By appointing him well in advance of next fall we are assuring a smooth transition in leadership,” Hickey said. “Dean Seidel and I agree that Dr. Fernández is the ideal person to follow her in this role.”

The college was created in October, when it was announced that the College of Arts and Sciences would be divided to form the College of Arts and Humanities and the College of Sciences. The nearly 14,000 Arts and Sciences majors and 550 faculty members will be split about evenly between the two new colleges.

Peter Panousis, who had headed UCF’s Institute for Economic Competitiveness, was named interim dean of Sciences. He will manage the transition of faculty, programs and budget into the new Sciences college while a national search is conducted for a dean.

Fernández, who oversaw faculty and staff affairs and other personnel issues as associate dean, has agreed to serve for up to five years as dean of Arts and Humanities.

He received his bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in Spanish at Florida State University, where he also studied history. Before coming to UCF in 1982, Fernández was a Spanish professor and chair of the Department of Foreign Languages at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs.

At UCF, he has served as professor of history and foreign languages, and chair of the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures. He also chaired President John Hitt’s Commission on the Status of Racial and Ethnic Minorities.

In 2001, Fernández received the Pegasus Professor award, UCF’s highest faculty honor for extraordinary teaching, research and service.

DATE POSTED
December 16, 2005

CONTACT
Tom Evelyn
UCF News & Information
407-823-5988
tevelyn@mail.ucf.edu

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