Texas Southern University (TSU) President Dr. Austin A. Lane announced two personnel changes in two academic areas.
Upon the recommendation of Provost Dr. Bobby Wilson, Dr. John Sapp, who currently serves as chair of TSU’s Chemistry Department, has been named interim dean for the College of Science, Engineering and Technology (COSET) and Dr. Shirlette Milton has been named interim dean for the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (COPHS).
Both will begin their new roles as interim deans on January 1, 2017. The University will begin a national search to fill those positions permanently.
Dr. Sapp earned his Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry (’62) and Master of Science degree in chemistry (’64) from TSU, and garnered a Ph.D. in chemistry (’71) from the University of Houston. He began his teaching career in TSU’s Chemistry Department in 1964. Along with numerous peer reviewed scientific publications and external research grants to his credit, Dr. Sapp has served as a TSU administrator since 1990. His roles included stints as Associate Dean and Interim Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Behavioral Sciences, chair of the Chemistry Department, and a brief appointment as Interim Dean of the College of Science and Technology.
Dr. Milton is a professor of Pharmaceutical Chemistry in the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (COPHS) at TSU, with over 25 years of academic and administrative experiences in pharmacy. Dr. Milton has previously served as Associate Dean of Health Sciences, Interim Dean and Assistant Dean for Student Services in the college. Dr. Milton has served as principal investigator for a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Administrators’ Fellowship Research Project. As a NASA Administrator’s Fellow, she served as faculty advisor to a team of pharmacy students who were among the first from an HBCU to conduct a research experiment in simulated microgravity during the NASA KC-135 flight mission. Milton received a Bachelor of Science degree in pharmacy from TSU, a Master of Science degree in pharmaceutical sciences from the University of Texas at Austin, and the Ph.D. in biomedical sciences from the University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, UT Health Science Center at Houston.
Additionally, the University is continuing its aggressive search to fill six other positions: the dean positions of the Thurgood Marshall School of Law; the Barbara Jordan – Mickey Leland School of Public Affairs; the College of Liberal Arts and Behavioral Sciences; the School of Communication; the Jesse H. Jones School of Business; and the TSU Honors College.
“We are emphatic about securing the highest quality leadership for the University’s 10 colleges and schools in order to be consistent with the service excellence our faculty and staff provide and strive to achieve,” said President Lane.
Potential candidates will be screened and the committee will interview prospective candidates with interviews scheduled from March through May of 2017.