Mark Ratner Named Interim Dean of Weinberg College

The following letter was sent Thursday by Northwestern University Provost Daniel Linzer:

Colleagues,

I am very pleased to announce that Mark Ratner, the Lawrence B. Dumas Distinguished University Professor of Chemistry, has agreed to serve as interim dean of the Judd A. and Marjorie Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences for the 2014-15 academic year, effective Aug. 1. He succeeds Weinberg College Dean Sarah Mangelsdorf, who will become provost at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Mark is a true “university citizen,” and he will be an excellent leader of Weinberg College as we continue the deanship search. He earned his Ph.D. at Northwestern in 1969 and then began a remarkable career here as an internationally renowned scholar in seven major areas of chemistry, including environmental chemistry, energy science and nanoscience.

Mark is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Sciences, the American Chemical Society, the International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science and the American Physical Society. Among his many honors are the Feynman Award in Nanoscience and the Langmuir Award from the American Chemical Society. He has received honorary doctorates from Hebrew University and the University of Copenhagen.

During his 44 years at Northwestern, Mark has achieved a remarkable record of service, serving two terms as chair of the chemistry department, as associate dean in Weinberg College and currently as co-director of the Institute for Sustainability and Energy at Northwestern (ISEN). He has served on numerous college and University committees throughout his career and has received multiple faculty teaching awards at Northwestern, including the University Distinguished Teaching Award.

The national search for the next dean of Weinberg College is underway with the expectation that a new dean will be hired during the upcoming academic year. As an integral part of the process, the WCAS search committee will host an open forum in the fall quarter to provide an opportunity for those in the community -- students, faculty, staff and alumni -- to offer input regarding the desired attributes of the next dean.

Please join me in welcoming Mark as interim dean.

Sincerely,

Dan Linzer
Provost