Dear Colleagues,

I am delighted to announce the appointment of Dr. Cheryl Achterberg as dean of the College of Education and Human Ecology. She will also serve as a professor in the Department of Human Nutrition. Her appointment is effective on July 1, pending approval by the Board of Trustees.

Cheryl comes to us from Iowa State University, where she became the inaugural dean of the College of Human Sciences in 2005. Prior to joining the Iowa State faculty, she was a member of the nutritional sciences department at Penn State, rising through the ranks there, attaining tenure in 1991 and the rank of full professor in 1996.

Cheryl earned her bachelor’s degree in biological sciences at California Polytechnic State University, her master’s in human development at the University of Maine, and a Ph.D. in nutrition at Cornell University.

At Penn State, she was the director of the Nutrition Center from 1992 to 1996 and, in 1997, became the founding dean of the Schreyer Honors College. Under her leadership, the college became known for sending 50% of its first-year students abroad and creating a national model for honors service learning and leadership development.

An active researcher and successful grant recipient, Cheryl is the author or co-author of numerous monographs, book chapters, and articles in the field of nutrition. She has also published widely in the area of higher education and research methodology and has delivered scores of invited lectures.

Thanks to the very able leadership during the last several months of Interim Dean Sandy Stroot, the College of Education and Human Ecology is poised to move forward on several major initiatives. I look forward to working with Cheryl and the faculty, staff, and students of the college to help it realize its full potential.

I hope you will join me in offering Cheryl a warm welcome to Ohio State.

Sincerely,
Joe