Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences Steven Fluharty will step down from his role and return to Penn’s faculty on Dec. 31.
Interim Penn President Larry Jameson made the announcement in an email to the School of Arts and Sciences community on Tuesday morning. Fluharty was appointed to the position in 2013, and his 12 years leading the school make him the longest-serving dean in SAS history.
“Steve has overseen a transformation of the School of Arts and Sciences,” Jameson wrote. “Under his leadership, the School developed a new strategic plan … with priorities that remain at the top of Penn’s agenda today, including sustainability, data-driven discovery, and public policy and social impact.”
Fluharty told The Daily Pennsylvanian that he was honored to work with “dedicated faculty and staff and to witness the accomplishments of our talented students.”
“The decision to step down has been a difficult but necessary one, so that I may focus on the needs of my family,” Fluharty wrote in a statement to the DP. “I’m grateful for the opportunity I have had to serve the School and to be able to end my term knowing that it is positioned to continue its long history of excellence.”
His second term as dean was scheduled to end in June 2025, then-Penn President Amy Gutmann and then-Provost Wendell Pritchett wrote in a 2019 announcement.
At Penn, Fluharty is also the Thomas S. Gates Jr. Professor of Psychology, Pharmacology, and Neuroscience with appointments in SAS and the School of Veterinary Medicine’s Department of Animal Biology. He holds secondary appointments at the Perelman School of Medicine.
Fluharty first joined Penn’s faculty in 1986, and he served as senior vice provost for research prior to his appointment as dean. He received three degrees from the University: a bachelor’s in 1979, a master's in 1979, and a Ph.D. in 1981.
The timeline for appointing his successor has not yet been announced.
“Please join us in thanking Steve for his unparalleled service to SAS and Penn,” Jameson wrote.
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