Interim Provost Robin W. Morgan will become the University of Delaware’s 11th provost on July 1.
It marks the first time a woman has held the role of UD’s chief academic officer in a permanent capacity, President Dennis Assanis announced.
“We conducted a highly competitive national search that yielded a number of first-rate candidates, but Dr. Morgan emerged as a clear leader,” Assanis said.
Morgan was appointed as interim provost in October after former Provost Domenico Grasso stepped down from the position.
“Over the last seven months, Robin has assembled an impressive record as interim provost,” Assanis said. “Before working closely with her, I knew Robin as a highly respected educator and scholar, but after watching her in action, I am equally impressed with her abilities to lead, to inspire and to effect change. Her energy, integrity, analytical mind, innate knack for bringing people together, combined with her dedication and loyalty to UD are great assets.”
A search committee representing all colleges led the provost search process, which was confidential but included input from multiple and diverse campus constituencies, including faculty, staff, students, trustees, campus leaders and alumni. The competitive field of candidates was narrowed first to five, and then to two, before Assanis made the final decision.
Prior to her position as interim provost, Morgan was chair of the university’s Department of Biological Sciences, but her career at the university began in 1985 when she joined the Department of Animal and Food Sciences as an assistant professor. She became an associate professor in 1991 and a full professor in 1996, and has held a joint faculty appointment with the Department of Biological Sciences for many years.
In 2001, Morgan was named acting dean of the UD College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (CANR), a role she took over officially the following year. After 11 years leading CANR, she became the interim chair of the Department of Biological Sciences for two years before being named chair in 2016.
Morgan earned her bachelor’s degree in biology from Meredith College and her Ph.D. in biology from Johns Hopkins University. She also did post-doctoral research at the University of California at Berkeley.
She has been involved in cancer research since entering graduate school at Johns Hopkins in 1977.
Since joining the faculty of the University of Delaware, she has worked on Marek’s disease, a herpesvirus-induced T-cell lymphoma of chickens. Her lab has studied how Marek’s disease virus (MDV) induces T-cell lymphomas and how vaccines protect against tumor formation.
Morgan and her husband, Dr. Jim Damewood, have two children.
As the university’s chief academic officer, the provost is responsible for administration of all programs of instruction, research and service, and for facilitating the success of the University’s faculty and students, a release stated.
Assanis said he and Morgan will continue their focus on the University’s priorities as she officially assumes her role as provost.
