Steinmetz will lead Ohio State's Colleges of the Arts and Sciences

The Ohio State University has found a new leader for the Colleges of the Arts and Sciences. Executive Vice President and Provost Joseph A. Alutto and President E. Gordon Gee are recommending to the Board of Trustees the appointment of Joseph E. Steinmetz as executive dean of the Colleges of the Arts and Sciences and vice provost, Office of Academic Affairs. Subject to approval by the trustees, his appointment will be effective July 1.

Steinmetz has most recently served as the interim provost and dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Kansas. Previously at Indiana University for 19 years, there he served as executive dean for the College of Arts and Sciences, as chair of the Department of Psychology, and was designated a University Distinguished Professor.

"Joe Steinmetz is an uncommonly effective teacher and scholar, and his demonstrated leadership in fostering interdisciplinary collaborations makes him exactly the right person to further strengthen Ohio State's superb Arts and Sciences programs," Gee said. "In his own work, Dr. Steinmetz combines rigorous scientific inquiry with a decidedly humanistic perspective in exploring some of the most vexing of human conditions and behaviors."

Steinmetz was recognized by the National Academy of Sciences with a Troland Research Award for his "pioneering anatomical, physiological, and behavioral students that indentify pathways in the brain." His work is widely published in prestigious journals, and he has served as the editor-in-chief of Integrative Physiological and Behavioral Science and also Behavioral Science and Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience Reviews.

"We are very fortunate that Joe agreed to come to Ohio State. Because we are in the midst of a structural reorganization of our five arts and sciences colleges, Joe's success in leading this kind of enterprise at two other universities will be invaluable. His distinguished work in behavioral neuroscience makes him the kind of world-class faculty member we always hope to attract," Alutto said.

He is an elected fellow of the American Psychological Society and the Society of Experimental Psychologists. Steinmetz earned his bachelor's and master's degrees at Central Michigan University and his doctorate at Ohio University.

"I believe that the arts and sciences are the heart and soul of great institutions like Ohio State, and I am looking forward to working with my new colleagues to further strengthen the arts and sciences and increase their visibility on campus and around the world," said Steinmetz.

Steinmetz will replace Joan R. Leitzel who has held the interim position since last August while a national search was conducted for a permanent executive dean and vice provost.