Provost Paul N. Courant has asked Steven Kunkel, endowed professor of pathology research and current associate dean of the Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies, to serve as interim dean of the school and interim vice provost for academic affairs-graduate studies. His appointment will be effective June 1, pending approval by the Board of Regents.
“I know that Steve Kunkel will be an excellent interim dean, and that the graduate school will thrive under his leadership,” Courant says. “I look forward to working with him in the months ahead while the search for a permanent dean is underway.”
Kunkel joined the University faculty in 1980, rising in the Medical School ranks to professor of pathology in 1991. He was appointed to the endowed professorship in 1997.
In addition to his teaching and research, Kunkel has served as an administrator since 1994, at which time he became interim associate vice president for research. He began his current position as the graduate school associate dean in 1995, and he has served as co-director of general pathology in the Department of Pathology for more than a decade.
At Rackham, Kunkel oversees study in the basic sciences and works with Ph.D.-granting multidisciplinary programs and graduate programs in the biological and health sciences. In the position, he is involved in interdisciplinary activities, diversity issues and creative funding packages for the various programs. He also is engaged in teaching and mentoring activities with undergraduate and graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, or junior faculty members.
Kunkel’s research is in the field of immunology and inflammation. He has maintained continuous funding of five major National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants for a number of years, including an NIH MERIT (Method to Extend Research in Time) Award. He holds seven patents.
He has co-authored more than 475 peer-reviewed manuscripts, contributed chapters to numerous books in his field, served as editor of four books and is an associate editor for various scientific journals.
Additionally, Kunkel has presented more than 150 lectures as a visiting professor/lecturer in the past 10 years, has served on NIH peer review study sections and has organized numerous international conferences on inflammation.
He serves on the Board of Scientific Counselors for the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases-NIH, the Scientific Advisory Board of Pharmaceutical Companies, and has served as a consultant to major pharmaceutical companies in the United States and abroad.
Kunkel earned his bachelor’s degree from North Dakota State University and his doctorate from the University of Kansas. He served his post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Connecticut Health Center.
A search to replace current Dean Earl Lewis, who becomes provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at Emory University in Atlanta beginning July 1, is expected to begin this summer, Courant says.
