UMatters

Theodore White

Theodore C. White, Ph.D., has been appointed as Interim Dean of the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, effective July 23, 2012.

The announcement was made by Dr. Gail Hackett, Provost & Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs. White will serve as interim dean of the school until a permanent dean is named. Hackett said a search committee will begin work on the selection early in the Fall semester.

The dean’s post at the School of Biological Sciences became open after Dr. Lawrence Dreyfus, the former dean, was named to the position of Vice Chancellor for Research and Economic Development at the university on July 1.

“I am grateful to Dr. White for his willingness to take on this leadership position,” Hackett said. “He is an exemplary, award-winning researcher and teacher, who has made a strong impression during his time here at UMKC.”

White was hired as Marion Merrell Dow Professor of Biological Sciences and Head of the Division of Cellular Biology and Biophysics at UMKC in 2011, after a 15-year faculty career at the University of Washington. While at Washington, he also served as a member of the Seattle Biomedical Research Institute, where he was Director of the Microbial Pathogens Program from 2006 to 2008, and Director of the Emerging Infections Program from 2008 to 2010. He is a Fellow in the American Academy of Microbiology.

At the University of Washington, White received the Department of Pathobiology Teaching Award in 2005 and the School of Public Health and Community Medicine Outstanding Mentor Award in 2006. He served on the UW Faculty Senate from 2004 to 2011, and was Chair of the Pathobiology Department Curriculum Committee from 2007 to 2011.

White holds a B.S. in Genetics and Biochemistry from Cornell University, and a Ph.D. in Cellular & Molecular Biology from the University of Michigan. He participated in the Leadership Development Program for the University of Missouri System, held in Columbia, Mo. from Sept 2011 through May 2012.

During 2000 through 2002, he assisted artist Jill Reynolds in the preparation of artwork for the show “Genesis – Contemporary Art Explores Human Genomics” for the Henry Art Gallery at the University of Washington, which opened April 5, 2002.