Terrence McDonald recommended as dean of LSA

Updated 3:00 PM May 8, 2003

Terrence McDonald recommended as dean of LSA

By Nancy Connell
News Service

Terrence McDonald will be recommended to the regents as LSA dean at their June meeting. With regental approval, the appointment will be effective July 1. McDonald, who also holds the title of professor of history, with tenure, has served as interim dean since May 2002 and has been on the faculty since 1980.

McDonald (Photo by Paul Jaronski, U-M Photo Services)

McDonald is an award-winning historian of the United States, the recipient of numerous teaching awards and a seasoned administrator. The author or editor of four books and many articles, he has made important contributions to the fields of American urban political history and historical method.

“Terry McDonald is an outstanding scholar, a dedicated teacher and an accomplished administrator, and he has long been dedicated to the University of Michigan and its ideals,” Provost Paul N. Courant says. “The search advisory committee identified an outstanding pool of candidates from a national search. Terry was clearly the best candidate. I am confident that he will continue to provide superb leadership to the college and the University.”

McDonald has received prizes for his work from the Social Science History Association and the California Historical Society, has been a Guggenheim Fellow and received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the U-M Humanities Institute. In 1991 he was the Richard Hudson Research Professor in the Department of History, and in 2001 he was a Directeur d’Études at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales in Paris.
Widely recognized for his excellent teaching, McDonald has received several prizes that recognize his dedication to students: the Ruth M. Sinclair Award for Student Counseling (1983), the Faculty Recognition Award for Outstanding Contributions to Teaching, Scholarship, and Service (1988), the Amoco Foundation Good Teaching Award (1991) and a State of Michigan Teaching Excellence Award (1991). He was appointed an Arthur F. Thurnau Professor (1993-96) by the University for his outstanding contributions to undergraduate education. He has worked with scores of graduate students, and three of his dissertation advisees have won a Rackham Distinguished Dissertation Award in the past five years.

“Terry McDonald is a fine scholar and proven leader who is known for his collaborative style within LSA and across campus. And he’s a terrific University citizen,” President Mary Sue Coleman says.

McDonald has served the University in many capacities, most recently as interim dean of LSA. Previously, he was a member of the Senate Assembly, a member of the Executive Committee of the Humanities Institute, and Interim Chair of the Department of History. From 1995-2000 he was associate dean for academic affairs in LSA, responsible for management of all aspects of academic personnel activities in the college, including new faculty hiring and orientation, the tenure and promotion process, affirmative action, leaves and sabbaticals and the formulation of all college policy in these areas. Throughout his career, McDonald has been a leader in understanding and articulating the academic value of diversity, in teaching and in research.

“I am honored to be chosen dean, and I look forward to collaborating with my colleagues of many years to create a vision for the next period in the long and distinguished history of LSA,” McDonald says. “During the next few years, we will work together to determine how LSA can strengthen and leverage its ties with the many schools within the University for the benefit of our faculty and students, and the entire campus community.”

McDonald received his doctorate from Stanford University in 1980. He was promoted to professor in 1992. In recent years he also has maintained an active public life, serving on the Ypsilanti City Council from 1994-2000.

“I would like to take this opportunity to express my appreciation to James S. House, who chaired the Search Advisory Committee, and the members of the committee for their outstanding service,” Courant says. “The president and I are delighted that Terry McDonald has accepted the deanship. We are proud of the excellence of LSA and confident that under Terry’s leadership the college will become even greater.”

Terrence McDonald recommended as dean of LSA

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