Douglas P. Ferraro, dean of arts and sciences at Western Michigan University at Kalamazoo, has been appointed provost at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, according to UNLV President Carol C. Harter.

Ferraro, who was selected as UNLV's top academic officer following a national search, will assume his new duties March 1, 1996.

"I am very pleased that Dr. Ferraro will be joining our administrative team," Harter said. "His experience as the dean of a very large and diverse college at a major Midwestern university, along with his experience in higher education in the West, will be a great asset to UNLV as we develop and implement a university-wide plan that will guide the institution for the next decade."

A licensed psychologist and qualified expert in forensic psychopharmacology, Ferraro has served in his current position since 1990. Previously, he served as chairman of the department of psychology at the University of New Mexico from 1984 to 1990, professor of psychiatry at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine from 1985 to 1990, and professor of psychology at New Mexico from 1973 to 1990. He began teaching at New Mexico in 1965 and was a visiting professor at Universidad Nacional Autonoma, Mexico (1981-82) and Universidad del Noreste, Mexico in 1977.

"I'm very excited about the prospects at UNLV," Ferraro said. "The faculty is excellent, and I look forward to working with them and with President Harter. I greatly appreciate this opportunity to work in partnership with Dr. Harter."

Ferraro will be accompanied by his wife, Dr. Sandra Odell, who was raised in Las Vegas.

"This will be a return to home for her," he said.

A prolific clinical researcher, he has published widely in books and professional journals, particularly on the topic of psychoactive drugs.

Ferraro completed his undergraduate and graduate studies at Columbia University, receiving the Ph.D. from Columbia in 1965.

Ferraro's salary will be $125,000.