Appointments of Vice President Joanna Regulska and Dean Jerry Kukor

June 27, 2011

Members of the Rutgers Community:

I am very pleased to announce the appointments of two outstanding academic leaders at Rutgers. Dr. Joanna Regulska, dean of international programs for the School of Arts and Sciences and professor of women's and gender studies and geography, has been appointed vice president for international and global affairs. Dr. Jerome Kukor, who has served as interim dean of the Graduate School–New Brunswick for the past three years, has been appointed permanent dean of the Graduate School. Both appointments are effective July 1, 2011, and both positions will report to the executive vice president for academic affairs.

In her new position, Dr. Regulska will work with faculty, students, and staff to deepen and expand the university's global engagements, and to enlarge the presence of international culture at Rutgers. Under her leadership and in collaboration with the various schools, the new Centers for Global Advancement and International Affairs (GAIA) will develop a comprehensive, campuswide set of international initiatives and services, initiate collaborative projects and strategic partnerships around the world, and expand students' opportunities for international study and research. Vice President Regulska's office will now be responsible for oversight of Study Abroad and the Center for International Faculty and Student Services.

Dr. Regulska has long provided leadership in international programs at Rutgers, including as founder of the Local Democracy Partnership Program and the Center for European Studies and initiator of programs such as the Global Initiative Biennial Theme.

Her current research and teaching concentrates on women's political activism, grassroots mobilization, and the everyday life of displaced populations in Caucasus. She is the author or co-author of five books and more than 90 articles and chapters, and the recipient of several fellowships, awards, and research grants. She has advised governments and parliaments in central and eastern European countries about women's rights and women's political participation, local government and public administration reforms, and decentralization processes following the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. This work was recognized by the President of Poland, who in 2004 awarded her the Knight Cross of the Order of Restitution of the Republic of Poland.

Jerry Kukor has been an outstanding interim dean of the Graduate School, and this work—in addition to his 14 years of service to the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, including the past five as dean of academic programs—makes him the ideal person to become the permanent dean.

Dr. Kukor is a professor of environmental science with expertise in environmental microbiology and microbial chemistry. His research, which has been funded by the National Institutes of Health for the past 25 years, focuses on analysis of the determinants of biodegradability of xenobiotic compounds by microorganisms. He has authored more than 80 journal articles and book chapters and has mentored two dozen doctoral and master's students, a dozen postdoctoral scholars, and nearly 30 undergraduate honors students.

With Dr. Kukor's assumption of the deanship, the Graduate School–New Brunswick will be formally separated from the Office of the Vice President for Research and Graduate and Professional Education. That office will be renamed the Office of the Vice President for Research and Economic Development, reflecting its focus on relations with industry partners and technology transfer, and will continue to be led by Vice President Michael Pazzani. The Graduate School–New Brunswick will also assume the responsibility for the Office of Graduate Admissions.

Please join me in celebrating these appointments and offering your support to Joanna and Jerry as they take on these critical leadership positions.

Richard L. McCormick
President
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey