Kelly Mayo named dean of The Graduate School at Northwestern University
Mayo has served as interim dean since June 2020
- Link to: Northwestern Now Story
Kelly E. Mayo, who has served as interim dean of The Graduate School (TGS) at Northwestern University since June 2020, has been named dean of TGS, Provost Kathleen Hagerty announced today.
“I am extremely honored to continue to work with our outstanding students and to partner with faculty, staff and administration to support graduate education at Northwestern,” Mayo said. “Strong graduate programs are a key foundational element supporting our collective mission as a great research and teaching University.”
The appointment is effective May 1. Mayo also has served as interim associate provost for graduate education since last spring and will continue in that role.
“Kelly is a strong and steady advocate for our graduate students and their programs of study,” Hagerty said. “He has led TGS through the past year, demonstrating a remarkable ability to adapt and improve, even in the uncertain circumstances caused by the pandemic. We know he will continue to enhance TGS programs and serve the needs of our graduate students as the permanent dean of TGS.”
Mayo has been at Northwestern since 1985, serving as associate dean for research and graduate studies at the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, chair of the Department of Molecular Biosciences, director of the Center for Reproductive Science, director of the Interdisciplinary Biological Sciences Graduate Program and as the Walter and Jennie Bayne Professor of Molecular Biosciences. His research focuses on molecular mechanisms relevant to reproductive disorders and fertility.
He has mentored many postdoctoral trainees, graduate students and undergraduate students, and has been recognized with a variety of awards including election as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the E. Leroy Hall Award for Teaching Excellence and the Outstanding Mentor Award from Women in Endocrinology.
“The most rewarding and exciting part of this position is the opportunity to continuously learn from our students and to witness the remarkable scholarship they undertake and the world-changing accomplishments they achieve,” Mayo said.
Mayo also has served as president of the Endocrine Society, a national organization devoted to research on hormones and the clinical practice of endocrinology. He succeeds former Dean Teresa Woodruff, who now serves as provost of Michigan State University.
