Prof named acting Vet school dean

Alan Kelly, chairperson of the Veterinary School's Pathobiology Department, will become acting dean of the Vet School in January. Interim President Claire Fagin and Interim Provost Marvin Lazerson announced the appointment last week. Kelly replaces Dean Edwin Andrews who surprised the University community this summer when he announced he would retire at the end of December. Andrews said December would be an appropriate time to step down, because the school's state funding – which represents about 40 percent of its annual operating budget – was restored this summer after two years of uncertainty. "I believe we are now at a crossroad of opportunity," Andrews said in June. "For the [Vet] School, the occasion rests in new leadership bringing different skills for future growth." In a statement published in this week's Almanac, Fagin and Lazerson said they think Kelly will be a competent temporary replacement for Andrews. "[Kelly] is highly regarded both as a scholar and an administrator, and understands the concerns of the faculty," they said. "Dr. Kelly has done an outstanding job as the chairman of pathobiology, and is a highly creative person with excellent ideas about the Vet School's future." Kelly, who earned his Ph.D. in pathology at the University in 1967, said he is looking forward to assuming the role of acting dean, adding the job will be "an exciting challenge." He said the Vet School's funding problem is still not entirely resolved and that finances will be the most important issue of his anticipated 10-month term. Kelly said he is not a candidate for the permanent post. "I think the issue for the Veterinary School is to try and devise ways for more stable funding because of difficulties we've had over the past couple of years which have been severely taxing the faculty," he said. "We can't go on with the uncertainties." Kelly said the issue of tight funding will have to be addressed immediately. He added, however, that he is not sure how he will deal with the problem. "In truth, I'm just beginning to feel my way through the problem," he said. "I'm a research scientist so this is a new field for me." Kelly became assistant professor at the University in 1968 and was promoted to associate professor in 1972 and to full professor in 1979. In 1974, he received the Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching and is currently a Fellow of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. Kelly has written some 70 research papers and book chapters and is known throughout the world as a lecturer in a variety of fields including medicine, biology, physiology, zoology and sports medicine. His research projects have been funded by the Muscular Dystrophy Association of America, the National Cancer Institute and many others.