The director of the Applied Marine Research Laboratory at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va., has been hired as UNLV's new dean of the College of Sciences, President Carol C. Harter announced Wednesday (May 7).
Raymond W. Alden III will assume his new duties Aug. 1. He will follow interim dean Warren Burggren in the position.
"We look forward to having Dr. Alden join the strong academic leadership team that is helping UNLV become an outstanding national university," Harter said.
Alden has directed the Applied Marine Research Laboratory since 1982 and served as professor of biological sciences at Old Dominion since 1988. Previously, he served as associate professor of biological sciences; he held a joint appointment as assistant professor in Old Dominion in the department of biological sciences and assistant professor in Old Dominion's Institute of Oceanography.
"Dr. Alden's experience as director of the Applied Marine Research Center at Old Dominion University, where he handled budgetary and fund-raising responsibilities along with oversight and coordination of diverse research projects by an interdisciplinary faculty, gives him a strong leadership background and a clear understanding of the administration of academic programs," Provost Douglas Ferraro said.
Dr. Bill Wells, chair of the search committee that recommended Alden, explained that Alden's scientific research, while focusing on pollution ecology in marine environments, depends mainly on computer simulations and mathematical modeling and does not require ready proximity to the ocean.
Alden received the bachelor's degree in biology from Stetson University in Deland, Fla., where he graduated magna cum laude in 1971. He received the Ph.D. in zoology from the University of Florida in 1976.
