Redevelopment of Norris University Center’s East Lawn to begin this summer
April 5, 2024
EVANSTON, Ill. --- Craig R. Bina has been appointed by Provost Daniel Linzer to serve as acting dean of The Graduate School (TGS) and acting associate provost for graduate education at Northwestern University during TGS Dean Dwight McBride’s upcoming leave from Oct. 1, 2015, to June 30, 2016.
Bina is currently the Wayne V. Jones II Professor of Geological Sciences in the department of Earth and planetary sciences in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences.
He has previously served in several academic leadership positions at Northwestern, including associate dean for research and graduate studies, associate dean for undergraduate studies and advising and interim chair of the department of Earth and planetary sciences in Weinberg.
Bina is also a founding member of the Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO) and a member of the Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics (CIERA).
“I’m extremely pleased that Craig Bina has agreed to serve as acting dean of The Graduate School during Dwight McBride’s leave,” Linzer said. “His extensive experience as an academic leader at Northwestern, along with his in-depth understanding of graduate student issues across many disciplines, will provide students, faculty and postdoctoral fellows with outstanding leadership throughout the coming year.”
Dean McBride -- also the Daniel Hale Williams Professor of African American Studies, English and performance studies -- is taking this leave to serve as the 16th Mellon Distinguished Scholar in Residence at the American Antiquarian Society and conduct scholarship on Phillis Wheatley.
“I am looking forward to this time to return to my scholarship,” McBride said. “And I can do so with a great sense of confidence knowing that Craig Bina will be acting dean of TGS. He is an excellent choice and will serve the graduate community at Northwestern extremely well during my absence.”
As acting dean of The Graduate School, Bina will lead all aspects of graduate education at Northwestern. This includes current priority areas for the school, such as implementing the new graduate student stipend levels, continuing to diversify the graduate student community and expanding the professional development programs to support students pursuing careers both within and outside the academy. He also will be advocating on behalf of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows at the University.
“I look forward to the challenge of serving as acting dean during Dwight McBride’s leave,” Bina noted. “This is a great opportunity to work with the TGS leadership team and staff to continue forward with recent initiatives supporting graduate education at Northwestern that will benefit both graduate students and the University community.”
