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Veteran administrator named dean of dentistry

January 22, 2009

by Jeff McCallister

Carole Anderson has spent her 23 years at Ohio State building a reputation as a strong administrator.

She was well-regarded as dean of the College of Nursing for 15 years, during which time she also was assistant vice president for and executive dean of the health sciences.

She’s been a vice provost in the Office of Academic Affairs since 2001. During that time she has also served first as interim dean of the Graduate School, then, beginning in 2006, as interim dean of the College of Dentistry.

Now Anderson has agreed to remove the “interim” from her title and concentrate full-time on duties as dean of the College of Dentistry. She’s also stepping down as vice provost so she can give her complete attention to the college.

“I’ve learned a great deal in my two years as interim dean of this college, and I know what we need to move forward in making this one of the top professional schools in the nation,” Anderson said.

“We have many strengths to work with — our faculty members are outstanding in every respect, our students are among the best in the nation and we have an ambitious strategic plan that’s designed to move this college into world-class status.”

Two of Anderson’s main accomplishments as interim dean were the development of a strategic plan for the college and the initiation of an external review that suggested some areas of improvement for the college, as well as emphasizing its strengths.

So the removal of the “interim” tag was about more than semantics, said Executive Vice President and Provost Joe Alutto, who announced the appointment to faculty, staff and students of the college earlier this month.

“Interim deans serve in a transitional role,” Alutto said. “As permanent, full-time dean, Dr. Anderson’s functions will be broader and deeper with full authority to lead and make changes in all administrative and budgetary matters, including implementation of the strategic plan.”

Anderson’s first objectives, in addition to moving forward with the implementation of the new strategic plan, are to increase diversity by focusing on the recruitment and retention of outstanding minority students and faculty members and to facilitate collaboration between the college and the Medical Center’s health sciences units.

“This is already a strong, well-respected organization, and we’re going to focus now on moving to an even higher level of achievement and success,” she said.

Alutto voiced his confidence in Anderson’s ability to tackle the job as he made the initial announcement. “Carole is one of the most outstanding administrators I have ever worked with, and I am confident she will intelligently, honestly and openly continue to provide the leadership necessary to optimize the college’s opportunities and address its challenges,” he said.

Anderson has held academic appointments at Ohio State as a professor of psychiatry in the College of Medicine and as a professor of nursing administration in the College of Nursing.

She received her BS in nursing, a master’s degree in psychiatric nursing and a PhD in sociology from the University of Colorado. Before coming to Ohio State, she served as associate dean in the School of Nursing at the University of Rochester and was a faculty member and division chair at the University of Colorado’s School of Nursing.

Anderson currently serves on the National Advisory Council of the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute for Dental and Craniofacial Research.

She also is a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and the past editor of the academy’s official journal, Nursing Outlook. She was a charter member and two-term chair of the Scientific Review Group of the National Institute of Nursing Research, and she has worked with several national policy-making organizations, including the National Advisory Committee on Nurse Education and Practice.

Throughout her distinguished career as a professor and administrator in the health sciences at Ohio State, Anderson has managed the restructuring of multi-million dollar budgets, and she has affected university-wide policies in myriad ways, including her service as the co-chair of the University’s Council on Diversity.

“Carole Anderson has been successful in an array of executive-level leadership positions at this university, and she is one of the premier administrators at Ohio State,” President Gordon Gee said. “The college is in very capable hands with her as dean.”