David A. Reingold named Purdue liberal arts dean

Reingold is professor and executive associate dean of IU’s School of Public & Environmental Affairs at the Bloomington campus. The appointment is effective March 1, 2015.

”David Reingold’s leadership will help Purdue’s College of Liberal Arts distinguish itself as an innovative leader in scholarship and educating students across the liberal arts disciplines,” said Deba Dutta, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs.

Since 2008 Reingold has been the executive associate dean for Indiana University’s School of Public & Environmental Affairs, and prior to that he was director of the Public Affairs and Public Policy Ph.D. Programs in the school.

”Purdue’s College of Liberal Arts stands apart from many liberal arts programs because of its history and position at a leading research university with core strengths in STEM fields, and I look forward to building on that foundation,” Reingold said. ”As the college focuses on the global world and citizen engagement, I also want Purdue’s liberal arts to strengthen arts throughout the campus and community and be an innovator in education programming.”

From 2002-2004 Reingold served as director of the Office of Research & Policy Development, U.S. Corporation for National & Community Service, in Washington, D.C. He also served as a member and research committee chair for the White House Task Force for Disadvantaged Youth, Domestic Policy Council in the Executive Office of the President in 2003–2004. His teaching and research interests include urban poverty, economic development, social welfare policy, low-income housing policy, civil society and government performance.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in sociology and social welfare from the University of Wisconsin in 1990 and his master’s and doctorate degrees in sociology from the University of Chicago in 1992 and 1996, respectively.

”Thanks to Dean Chris Ladisch, who led this national search, and the many faculty and staff who served on the search committee to aid in making this critical selection,” Dutta said.

The dean of the College of Liberal Arts is an endowed deanship, named in honor of Justin S. Morrill, who was a driving force in the 1862 College Land Grant Act, which created the foundation for universities such as Purdue. The legislation is now known as the Morrill Act in his honor.

Irwin Weiser has served as dean of liberal arts since July 2010 after serving as interim dean the previous year. Weiser will remain at Purdue and return to teaching in the Department of English, where he was previously head from 2002-2009.

The College of Liberal Arts is home to the departments of Anthropology, English, History, Philosophy, Political Science and Sociology, as well as the Brian Lamb School of Communication; the Patti and Rusty Rueff School of Visual and Performing Arts; and the schools of Interdisciplinary Studies and Languages and Cultures. In the college, there are 271 faculty and 3,243 undergraduate students and 772 graduate students.