On January 19, Sarah C. Mangelsdorf was able to drop "acting" from her title as she officially took the reigns as dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
"As interim dean, Sarah Mangelsdorf has administered the college with considerable wisdom, all the while bringing along the college strategic plan and contributing notably to the broad campus effort," says Chancellor Richard H. Herman.
"She has the considerable endorsement of the faculty and the college executive committee. I was most pleased to bring her name to the board and believe that she will build on all that has been accomplished over recent years," he says.
"As an associate provost, she guided policy and priorities concerning undergraduate education across the campus," Herman says. "As the head of psychology, she led one of our most eminent departments and largest undergraduate and graduate programs. As a professor, she has received her college's highest award for teaching. She has demonstrated a deep understanding of the breadth of campus, the needs of disciplines from the sciences to the social sciences and the humanities, and the importance of excellence in teaching and research."
Mangelsdorf was named acting dean in September 2004, succeeding Jesse G. Delia, who had served for 10 years.
Delia was appointed acting provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs on the Urbana campus, filling the position left by Herman, who was named interim chancellor in June 2004. Herman was named chancellor in April 2005.
Mangelsdorf earned her bachelor's degree in psychology in 1980 from Oberlin College in Ohio and her doctorate in 1988 in child psychology from the University of Minnesota.
She joined the Illinois psychology department faculty in 1991, after teaching at the University of Michigan for four years.
She studies social and emotional development in infancy and early childhood and is the author of numerous articles in developmental psychology. She also has served on the editorial boards of five academic journals.
Mangelsdorf has been honored several times for her teaching-winning, for example, the William Prokasy Teaching Award in 1998, the highest award for teaching in LAS. She also has appeared consistently on the campus list of excellent teachers.
Mangelsdorf previously served as associate head of the psychology department from 2000 to 2001, associate provost for the campus from 2001 to 2003, and head of the psychology department from 2003 to 2004.
