The decision to select Karin Ruhlandt to serve as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences will help Syracuse University meet its goal of having an improved liberal arts education for all students

On Friday, after nine months of looking for a new dean, interim Vice Chancellor and Provost Liz Liddy announced the search committee’s final decision to select Ruhlandt. She has been serving as interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences since July 2014. Ruhlandt has also been a part of SU faculty since 1993 and was named the chair of the chemistry department in 2009.

With aims improve Arts and Sciences, which the administration considers “the intellectual heart and soul of Syracuse University,” Ruhlandt’s wealth of experience at SU will prepare her for the challenges that lie ahead. Arts and Sciences has such a wide breadth of topics under its control, unifying all those programs and assisting them to reach their maximum potential will not be simple.

Yet, given Ruhlandt’s experience at SU, she likely has an understanding of which initiatives will work and which won’t. During her time as a professor, Ruhlandt would have witnessed the many changes at the university, and as a result of her familiarity will likely have ideas about how the college can be improved.

During her time at SU, Ruhlandt has been recognized for her research and innovation. In 1997 she was given the National Science Foundation Career award, and in 2013 she was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship.

Ruhlandt has plans to take what she has learned from these experiences to spearhead new programs at SU that will help fund more graduate and faculty research. During her brief time as interim dean, Ruhlandt was responsible for several initiatives, one of which increased the funding available for undergraduate research.

With her years of experience at SU, Ruhlandt has the potential to lead Arts and Sciences into new era and elevate the college in the process.