Provost Appoints Interim Deans for Three Colleges and Graduate School

LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 30, 2016) — University of Kentucky Provost Tim Tracy has named interim deans for three colleges on campus and The Graduate School, and he has filled an associate provost position.

Lawrence E. Holloway, chair of the UK Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, has been named interim dean of the College of Engineering, effective July 1. Holloway, who is also the director of the Power and Energy Institute of Kentucky and TVA Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, takes over for former Dean John Y. Walz, who was recently appointed president of the Milwaukee School of Engineering.

Holloway joined UK in 1991 as a joint faculty member in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the Center for Manufacturing, where he served as director from 2002 to 2007. His research focuses on analysis and control of systems, particularly applied to manufacturing. The National Science Foundation, Eaton, Rockwell, Department of Defense, NASA and others have funded his research projects, and he has published more than 100 technical publications. He has had leadership roles in several projects from the U.S. Department of Energy focusing on energy education and workforce development.

He received his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, and his master's and doctorate in electrical and computer engineering from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.

David Sogin, professor, associate dean of the College of Fine Arts and coordinator of the Music Education Division of the School of Music, has been named interim dean of the UK College of Fine Arts. Sogin teaches courses in string methods, principles of research, foundations of music education, music learning and behavior, music and special populations, and directs theses and dissertations. His research interests include psychoacoustics, music learning and development, string education, and teacher effectiveness. Sogin's research has been printed regularly in national and international publications and he serves as editor of the String Research Journal.

The 2013 recipient of the String Researcher Award from the American String Teachers Association, Sogin holds a bachelor's degree in music from Louisiana State University, a master's degree in music education from North Texas State University, and a doctoral degree in music education from the University of Texas at Austin. He previously served as national chair of the special research interest group on adult music education for the National Association for Music Education.

Sogin will take over for College of Fine Arts Dean Michael Tick, who will become dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts at Syracuse University July 1.

The interim dean for The Graduate School effective July 1 is Brian Jackson, who currently serves as senior associate dean for academic administration for The Graduate School. He is also a professor in the Department of Physiology and an affiliated faculty member in the Saha Cardiovascular Research Center, both in the UK College of Medicine.

Jackson holds bachelor's and doctoral degrees from the University of Sheffield in England, and he was a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.  He joined UK's College of Medicine in 1981.  His research focuses on the renal and adrenal systems for which he is widely published, and among the organizations funding his research are the National Institutes of Health, the American Heart Association and the Veteran's Administration.

Jackson has served in the administration of The Graduate School since 2003 and takes over with the recent departure of Graduate School Interim Dean and Associate Provost Susan Carvalho who will become dean of the University of Alabama Graduate School.

The new UK Lewis Honors College was given final approval by the UK Board of Trustees last week. Because it is now an official college, it will be overseen by a dean. Phil Harling, currently director of the UK Gaines Center for the Humanities, will serve as interim dean.

A faculty member at UK for more than 20 years, Harling has received several teaching awards at UK, notably the Provost Award for Outstanding Teaching, as well as research fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the American Philosophical Society. A Distinguished Service Professor at UK, he served as associate dean of faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences for several years and was interim dean of the college for the 2008-09 academic year.

Harling received his bachelor's degree from Grinnell College in 1986 and his doctoral degree in history from Princeton University in 1993. A specialist in the history of modern Britain and the British Empire, he is a fellow of the Royal Historical Society and has authored two books and numerous articles.

“We’ve built incredible momentum in the last several years under the leadership of President Capilouto and thanks to the outstanding work conducted across our 16 colleges,” said UK Provost Tim Tracy. “Each of these interim deans has shown exemplary leadership and dedication to their respective colleges and units. I look forward to watching them continue to build on our progress as we pursue our ambitious goals outlined in our Strategic Plan.” 

Tracy also appointed Kirsten Turner to the position of associate provost of academic excellence operations.  She will oversee and coordinate operational aspects of the Academic Excellence units of the Office of the Provost.

"Dr. Turner brings a wealth of administrative experience to the position, having served for the past 12 years as chief of staff in the College of Arts and Sciences" Tracy said. 

Turner earned a bachelor's degree from Hanover College in Indiana, a master's from UK and a doctorate in higher education from the University of Virginia.

UK is the University for Kentucky. At UK, we are educating more students, treating more patients with complex illnesses and conducting more research and service than at any time in our 150-year history. To read more about the UK story and how you can support continued investment in your university and the Commonwealth, go to: uky.edu/uk4ky. #uk4ky #seeblue

MEDIA CONTACT:  Kathy Johnson, 859-257-3155 or kathy.johnson@uky.edu