Gerald Francis, provost and vice president for academic affairs at Elon College, has named Steven House as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and Nancy Midgette as associate provost. House is associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Seton Hall University in South Orange, N.J. Midgette has been an Elon faculty member since 1986 and is currently serving as interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.
As dean, House will lead 17 academic departments and two interdisciplinary majors. The College of Arts and Sciences was created in February 2000 as part of an academic reorganization that emphasized the centrality of the liberal arts and sciences at Elon. A national search for the dean was launched last fall.
In her new position as associate provost, Midgette will provide leadership for accomplishing academic goals outlined in NewCentury@Elon, the institution’s new strategic plan. She will lead curriculum development and provide supervision for several academic areas.
House and Midgette will be members of the dean’s council and will report directly to the provost along with the deans of the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business, the School of Education and the School of Communications.
“Our national search has identified two outstanding academic leaders,” Francis said. “Steven House is a nationally known scholar who brings to Elon an impressive background. His experience and reputation will be a great advantage in the continued development and growth of the College of Arts and Sciences. Nancy Midgette’s extensive knowledge of Elon and her role as a member of the NewCentury@Elon task force make her a perfect fit for the position of associate provost.”
House began his faculty career at Seton Hall in 1987 as an assistant professor of biology. He was named associate professor in 1993, became an associate professor in the School of Graduate Medical Education in 1996 and was named associate dean of the
College of Arts and Sciences in 1997. He was promoted to professor biology in 2000. He also serves as Seton Hall’s Director of Health Professions.
House has been awarded Seton Hall’s Outstanding Service Award and Outstanding Teaching Award. He is the author of numerous publications on blood flow regulation during health and disease. He has received a research grant from the National Institute of Health, has made more than 75 research presentations around the world and has made more than 100 presentations on using information technology to enhance teaching and learning.
House has a doctorate in physiology from the University of Arizona, Tucson and a bachelor’s degree in biology from Calvin College, Grand Rapids, Mich. He was a postdoctoral fellow in physiology and cellular biophysics at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York.
Midgette was an assistant and associate professor of history at Elon before being named the William J. Story Sr. Professor of History in 1996. She was named interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences in June 2000. Midgette served as chair of the history department from 1994 to 2000, received the Daniels-Danieley Award for teaching excellence at Elon in 1998, and was director of the Leadership Program from 1991 to 93.
Midgette is a leading authority and author on Southern and Civil War history and was historian-in-residence at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in the summer of 1987. She is the author of “To Foster the Spirit of Professionalism: Southern Scientists and State Academies of Science,” a book examining efforts by scientists in the South to join the national academic dialogue. She has served as president of the Association of Historians in North Carolina, as a consultant for Educational Testing Service and as a member of the editorial board for The Georgia Historical Quarterly.
Midgette has a doctorate in American history from the University of Georgia, Athens, and a master’s degree in American history and a bachelor’s degree in sociology from North Carolina State University, Raleigh.
House and Midgette will assume their positions this summer.
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