The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth School for Marine Sciences and Technology (SMAST) has announced that Dr. Steven Lohrenz has accepted the position of Dean.
NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — Jan. 5, 2010 — The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth School for Marine Sciences and Technology (SMAST) has announced that Dr. Steven Lohrenz has accepted the position of Dean. Dr. Lohrenz is currently Professor and Chair of the Department of Marine Science at the University of Southern Mississippi (USM). Dr. Lohrenz received his Ph.D. in Biological Oceanography from the MIT-Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
The following letter from Provost Anthony Garro announced the news to faculty and staff of SMAST earlier today.
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January 5, 2011
Dear Colleagues,
I am pleased to announce that Dr. Steven Lohrenz has accepted our offer to become the new Dean of the School for Marine Sciences and Technology (SMAST). Dr. Lohrenz is currently Professor and Chair of the Department of Marine Science at the University of Southern Mississippi (USM). He has served as a faculty member at USM since 1987 and was appointed Chair of the Department of Marine Science in 2004 following a national search. The USM Department of Marine Science is located at NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center, which is situated approximately 75 miles from the USM main campus. As Department Chair, Dr. Lohrenz has been responsible for the management of four academic programs, which include both undergraduate and graduate degrees, a facility comprised of over 80 employees, three buildings and an operating budget of over $8 million. Prior to becoming Department Chair, Dr. Lohrenz chaired the Executive Committee for the School of Ocean and Earth Sciences at USM and will bring to SMAST a strong administrative background involving strategic and facilities planning. He also brings leadership experience at the national level. From 2004-2007 he served on the Board of Governors for the Consortium of Oceanographic Research and Education (CORE) and the Joint Oceanographic Institutions (JOI) Board of Governors. He was elected to the CORE-JOI Ocean Council which guided the merger of CORE and JOI to form the Consortium for Ocean Leadership, on which he served as a Trustee and Vice-Chair from 2008-2010. He has also served on numerous national science advisory committees, including most recently the Ocean Carbon and Biogeochemistry Steering Committee and the Carbon Cycle Science Steering Group.
Dr. Lohrenz received his Ph.D. in Biological Oceanography from the MIT-Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and both he and his wife, Maura, who is also an MIT graduate, have strong ties to New England and the South Coast. Dr. Lohrenz's research interests are in the field of phytoplankton ecology and the role of phytoplankton in biogeochemical cycling, with a specialization in bio-optics and remote sensing. He has published over 55 journal articles, 7 book chapters and has been successful in securing more than $12.5 million in external funding from a variety of agencies including NSF, ONR, NOAA, NASA and the Army Core of Engineers. Most recently he has been serving on an oil spill response team that has been part of a multi-state consortium of universities coordinating activities in response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
We expect Dr. Lohrenz to be joining us full-time in July. He will be visiting the campus intermittently during the Spring semester as part of transitioning from USM to SMAST. We invite you to join us in welcoming him and his wife Maura to the campus.
We also want to express our deep appreciation to Dr. John Farrington for all that he has done in his service as Interim Dean. John will be staying on until Dr. Lohrenz's arrival this summer.
Sincerely,
Anthony J. Garro
Provost and Vice Chancellor
for Academic and Student Affairs