Courtesy of hartford.edu
On Thursday, Oct. 31, Walter Harrison, president of the University, sent a memo to faculty and staff informing them that Joseph Voelker, Dean of the School of Arts & Science, will be stepping down at the end of this year, effective Jan. 5, 2014.
According to Harrison, Voelker was originally supposed to step down at the end of the 2013-13 academic year, however Provost Sharon Vasquez was able to convince him to stay the extra semester to continue working on the planning process of the school, to help with the rebranding initiative.
After serving as English professor and Assistant Dean of the Faculty at Franking & Marshall College, Voelker came to the University of Hartford to take the role of Dean of Arts & Sciences in 2003.
During his tenure, 35 new, full-time faculty members joined the school. He also started first year seminar classes, which are mandatory for all students in the School of Arts & Sciences.
He also led the charge in bringing back the Graduate Institute of Professional Psychology back on campus and installing it in all the different type of psychology programs on campus.
In 2004, Voelker created the Arts & Sciences advisory board. He also served on advisory board for the Presidents’ College, along with teaching Irish literature for the college.
From 2007-08, Voelker served as an interim Provost, where Harrison said in his letter that they worked very close throughout the year.
The College of Arts & Sciences currently over 23 different majors with a total of 1,300 undergraduates enrolled in the school. There is also a total of 115 faculty members in the school.
In the letter, Harrison states that he is grateful of Voelker’s contributions to the school, and that an announcement of an interim Dean will come within the next few weeks.
“I am grateful for Joe’s tremendous dedication to the University of Hartford and I want to express our collective appreciation for his decade of service. His clarity of thought, forthrightness, and humor has made him an essential partner in our strategic planning exercise as well as Foundation of the Future. I have enormous respect for Joe and appreciate his thoughtful concern and advice for crafting a smooth transition in leadership for the College of Arts and Sciences, which will include an announcement of an Interim Dean in the next weeks.”
After taking a leave of abcense, Voelker will return as a tenured member of the English department.