College dean will leave U.

Norman Adler, associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, will leave the University this February to accept a position as Vice Provost of Northeastern University in Boston, Adler said yesterday. "I could very happily continue in this job -- it's the job I've enjoyed most in my professional career," he said. "But I think it's time to go." Adler has been associate dean for the College since January 1989. Since that time, he said he has worked to reunite the undergraduate College office and implement and strengthen academic programs designed to improve the quality of undergraduate life at the University. "I'm a manager now -- of creative and intellectual ideas," he said. "I've done what I could for the College and now I will do it across a University at a different type of school." Adler listed the "reinvigoration" of the Freshman Seminar Program, the strengthening of the College Distributional Requirements and faculty-peer advising, the implementation of the Penn Reading Program and a "cemented" relationship with Residential Living as some of the main accomplishments of his office during his four years of tenure. His latest achievement is the institution of a writing requirement for all College students that will take effect in the fall of 1993, he said. Adler said he has enjoyed his time at the University. He added that he is optimistic about the future of the College and the great "management team" under School of Arts and Sciences Dean Rosemary Stevens. "I'm proud of what we've started," he said. "I feel much better about the place. We have a wonderful dean who will stay for a while and give some stability to the School of Arts and Sciences." Adler's announcement adds to the growing list of University administrators who have resigned this school year, including Executive Vice President Marna Whittington and University Lobbyist James Shada. Within the College, Stevens took over as dean last fall after former SAS Dean Hugo Sonnenschein resigned to become provost of Princeton University. Stevens is out of town and was not available for comment last night. University President Sheldon Hackney said last night that Adler had many "interesting accomplishments" at the University. "He really believes in undergraduate education," Hackney said. "He brought creative imagination to his job." Hackney attributes the success of the Penn Reading Program to Adler who, though he did not create it, "encouraged and nurtured" it to make it a success. "We always hate to lose talented people but this seems like a very good opporunity for him," he said. The news of Adler's departure is being made public today and has caught several faculty members in the College by surprise. Robert Engs, former chairperson of the undergraduate history department, said that he worked extensively with the College office during his five years as chairperson and thinks Adler will be missed. "I think Dean Adler brought considerable energy and efficiency to the advising program and an identity that the College hadn't [had] before," he said. And History Professor Alan Kors echoed this sentiment, stressing another aspect of Adler's accomplishments. "He founded . . . the undergraduate program -- the Biological Basis of Behavior [program] -- which is one of the most remarkable undergraduate programs in the University," he said.

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