"Graduate students are critical to the intellectual vigor of the university. I look forward to working with the administration, faculty, staff and students to ensure that we provide the best possible educational experience for our graduate students." —Nancy Marcus |
FSU News Marcus named dean of Graduate Studies by Jill Elish Florida State University Provost and Executive Vice President Lawrence G. Abele has named internationally recognized oceanographer Nancy Marcus dean of Graduate Studies. Marcus, who has served on the FSU faculty since 1987, was the perfect choice to lead the division, Abele said. She succeeds Dianne Harrison, who was appointed vice president for academic quality and external programs at FSU in April. "Nancy Marcus is a renowned scientist, a talented teacher and a skilled administrator," Abele said. "She has always recognized the importance of improving education and reaching out to those who have been underrepresented in academia, especially the sciences. Graduate Studies will flourish under her leadership." Marcus, the Mary Sears Professor of Oceanography, is chair of the oceanography department and director of the FSU Living-Learning Community for Women in Mathematics, Science and Engineering. She served as director of the FSU Marine Laboratory from 1989 to 2001. As dean of Graduate Studies, Marcus will have oversight of the university's policies and procedures relating to more than 200 graduate programs, including 73 doctoral programs. She will coordinate the university fellowship program and minority graduate fellowship program, approve faculty to teach at the graduate level and grant them directive status over master's and doctoral students' theses and dissertations. "I am very excited to have the opportunity to serve FSU as an advocate for graduate education," she said. "Graduate students are critical to the intellectual vigor of the university. I look forward to working with the administration, faculty, staff and students to ensure that we provide the best possible educational experience for our graduate students." Marcus said she also looks forward to working with national groups such as the Council of Graduate Schools and the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges (NASULGC) to further increase the intellectual prominence of FSU, especially as it relates to graduate education. Marcus, who specializes in the evolution, ecology and population dynamics of marine zooplankton, was named a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1991. In 2004, she was named a fellow of the Association for Women in Science. At FSU, she was recognized as a Robert O. Lawton Distinguished Professor, the university's highest faculty honor, in 2001. She also has received a Professorial Excellence Program Award and a Being There Award from the Division of Student Affairs. Before coming to FSU, Marcus worked at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, first as a postdoctoral fellow and then as a member of the scientific staff. She earned her bachelor's degree from Goucher College and a doctorate from Yale University in 1976. |