MU Graduate Dean Accepts Deanship at Arizona State University
March 4th, 2013
By Kate McIntyre
COLUMBIA, Mo. – University of Missouri Provost Brian Foster announced today that George Justice, dean of the MU Graduate School, will resign effective June 1, to take the position of Dean for Humanities in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Arizona State University. Foster said that he would immediately initiate an accelerated internal process to name an interim dean, and will commence a full-scale national search to fill the dean’s position this fall.
“I’m sorry to see George leave. He has provided excellent leadership for the Graduate School and has achieved a number of significant goals,” Foster said. “We thank George for his contributions and wish him the best as he takes an important step in his career path, assuming an exciting new role at ASU, one of the largest and most dynamic public universities in the world.”
Justice joined Mizzou as an assistant professor of English in September 2002 and has served as the vice provost for advanced studies and dean of the graduate school since 2010. In addition to his continued scholarship of 18th century British literature, Justice made great strides in several critical areas as dean:
• He piloted the Glimpse into Graduate School Seminar Program, which informs underrepresented and first generation college sophomores and juniors about graduate school opportunities.
• Justice spearheaded MU’s membership in the Center for the Integration of Research, Training and Learning, a network of 25 Ph.D.-granting institutions funded by the National Science Foundation to prepare faculty members trained in science, technology, engineering and math.
• He helped develop the MU Informatics Institute, an interdisciplinary doctoral program in which six MU colleges or schools unite to offer concentrated studies in bioinformatics and health informatics.
• Justice expanded the state’s Paul D. Coverdell Peace Corps Fellows Program; MU supports five returning Peace Corps volunteers each year as they complete degrees in the full range of MU master’s programs while serving in the Columbia and greater Missouri communities.
• He oversaw the reorganization of the graduate school, helping the campus fulfill its objectives in Public Affairs and Nuclear Science and Engineering.
“It has been a great privilege to work at MU as a faculty member and as dean of the graduate school,” Justice said. “Our university is blessed with outstanding students, brilliant faculty, and ethical, dedicated leadership. Each day on campus provides me and our entire community with the opportunity of learning new things, developing new skills, and making new contributions to knowledge. The talented and dedicated staff of the graduate school will continue working hard to enhance the experience of students and help the campus adapt its educational programs to the world around it. Although I am very sad to leave MU, I am looking forward to the challenge of a new role as an academic dean at ASU. At ASU I will be responsible for 3,500 students; hundreds of faculty in the School of Historical, Philosophical, and Religious Studies, the School of International Letters and Cultures, the Program in Jewish Studies, and the Department of English; and numerous interdisciplinary centers and institutes. The position of Dean for Humanities offers me the chance to help shape the future of these disciplines at a forward-looking university that is creating an agenda for change in the world of higher education.”
Justice received his doctorate and master’s degrees in English from the University of Pennsylvania and his bachelor’s degree in English from Wesleyan University. He is the author or editor of several books, including the Norton Critical Edition of Jane Austen’s Emma (2011).