In September, the University of Delaware’s acting president will become UNH’s next provost and vice president for academic affairs. Nancy Targett brings more than a decade of experience as dean of Delaware’s College of Earth, Ocean and Environment and director of Delaware Sea Grant and is a nationally recognized expert on ocean issues. During her Delaware tenure she led the development of two cross-university majors, supported the creation of multiple partnerships to enhance cultural exchange and enhancement and fostered the development of a university-wide entrepreneurial innovation ecosystem.
Of the university’s senior academic administrative role, UNH president Mark Huddleston says, “Nancy brings an enormous breadth of experience. I am confident she is the person to strengthen the quality of our academic and research programs as we enhance UNH’s profile as a top-tier research university.”
Targett earned her doctorate in oceanography at the University of Maine, her master’s in marine sciences at the University of Miami and her undergraduate degree at the University of Pittsburgh. At UNH, she will take over for P.T. Vasudevan, who has served as interim provost since May 2015 and will return to his position as senior vice provost for academic affairs.
Baylor University administrator Heidi Bostic will assume leadership of the College of Liberal Arts in June, following the retirement of longtime COLA dean Kenneth Fuld. Bostic is currently the inaugural director of interdisciplinary programs for Baylor’s College of Arts and Sciences and chair of the department of modern languages and cultures, the college’s largest academic department.
P.T. Vasudevan describes Bostic as talented scholar and leader who has great experience fostering relationships between the humanities and STEM disciplines. “Her no-nonsense approach and leadership experience will serve the college and the university well and help us to develop the strategic partnerships we need to expand career opportunities for students and to enhance the college’s teaching and research portfolios.”
Bostic will begin her role this summer following more than six years at Baylor as well as positions at Michigan Technological University, Concordia College in Minnesota and Minnesota State University. In 2015, she was awarded the higher education administrator of the year award from the Texas Foreign Language Association and was recently appointed to a three-year term on the Modern Language Association’s Committee on the Status of Women in the Profession.
Following his decision to step down from the deanship of UNH Law when his interim appointment ends next year, Jordan Budd has been named executive director of the school’s Warren B. Rudman Center for Justice, Leadership and Public Service, replacing Richard Ashooh ’86. Budd began a three-year term as interim dean in June 2014, and will hold his two roles simultaneously as a national search for the next dean is conducted. Prior to his interim role, he served as the law school’s associate dean for academic affairs and spent more than a decade in public service.
“I am thrilled to have the opportunity to help move the Rudman Center forward as we redouble our efforts to prepare students to enter public service,” Budd says. “That renewed focus will help us better serve our students and embody the spirit of Senator Rudman’s distinguished career.”
Budd assumed the Rudman Center role on March 18, at the end of Ashooh’s six-month interim appointment.
In February, UNH alumnus Michael Decelle ’81 became dean of UNH’s Manchester campus, taking over the post from interim dean J. Michael Hickey ’73. Formerly the president and CEO of CrossFiber, a venture-funded startup company in San Diego, Decelle brings valuable entrepreneur experience and leadership skills to the university’s urban campus, which emphasizes experiential learning and community engagement.
Praising the extraordinary development in new programs and partnerships that has taken place during Hickey’s term, P.T. Vasudevan says he’s looking forward to seeing Decelle continue the good work. “Mike is an experienced engineer with skills that will be invaluable in addressing New Hampshire’s workforce needs and will enable our students to make valuable contributions to the economic future of the state,” he says.
A New Hampshire native, Decelle followed his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering with a master’s degree in the same field from Cornell University. His career has included positions at Bell Laboratories and Lucent Technologies and he has led five venture-funded technology companies, three of which were university spinoffs.
Originally published in UNH Magazine Spring 2016 Issue
