Announcement by Laura Lawson, Executive Dean of the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences and Executive Director of the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station.
Dear SEBS and NJAES community,
Our School of Environmental and Biological Sciences Office of Academic Programs is the bedrock of the SEBS student experience, from recruitment to graduation. I am pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Ann Gould as Dean of Academic Programs, starting July 15.
Ann Gould joined Rutgers in 1990 and holds the title of Associate Extension Specialist in the Department of Plant Biology. Her area of scholarship focuses on applied research and extension programming in ornamental crop pathology, with an emphasis on the incidence and severity of bacterial leaf scorch in the New Jersey urban forest. She is an active advisor and teacher, regularly teaching General Plant Pathology. She served as Undergraduate Program Director from 2016 – 2020. She is known across Rutgers New Brunswick for her active participation in the University Senate, including serving as Chair from 2013-2016.
For the past three years, Dr. Gould has served Rutgers University as the Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs providing leadership, coordination, and support in the management of the university’s academic units. Additionally, she directed the accreditation reviews from the Middle States Commission as a liaison officer.
Dr. Gould’s experience conveys her commitment to the important role that our public, land-grant, research-intensive institution serves for our local communities, the state, and the nation. She brings to the Office of Academic Programs strategic leadership driven by collaboration across academic units, with the common goal of advancing student success through inclusive, experiential learning. As Dean of Academic Programs, Dr. Gould will be an essential member of the School’s leadership team.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Dr. Tom Leustek, who has served as Academic Dean since 2020. Prior to this, he served as Associate Dean for Academic Administration and Assessment from 2014-2020. Tom’s leadership has greatly supported the success of our academic community through advancement of a diverse range of education programs and expanded opportunities for students to engage in research and internships. He has worked closely with the New Jersey Department of Agriculture to advance training for agriculture teachers. He improved systems for the curriculum committee and established a preeminent and sustainable Learning Outcome Assessment program for SEBS undergraduate majors. Tom will return to his faculty position in the Department of Plant Biology. He plans to continue to recruit future SEBS students through his ongoing connections with agricultural high school programs.
Please join me in thanking Tom Leustek for his leadership and welcoming Ann Gould back to SEBS and NJAES, and into this leadership role.
