Acting Dean Campbell ’90 Accepts New Planning Post
Garikai “Kai” Campbell ’90, associate professor of mathematics and former acting dean of students, joined the President’s Office as special assistant to the president and associate vice president for planning on July 1. “In his new role, Campbell serves as a liaison between the President’s Office and the community,” says President Rebecca Chopp, “helping to facilitate our direction-setting process and preparations for the next capital campaign. He will also undertake special projects for the Board of Managers and the College such as researching best practices in liberal arts colleges and investigating emerging trends in higher education.”
Campbell looks forward to taking the first steps in his new position. “One of the things that I am excited to do initially,” he says, “is to spend some time developing a better understanding of the models Sue Welsh [vice president for finance and treasurer], Robin Shores [director of institutional research], and others have built over the years to forecast important variables such as enrollment, faculty size, and facilities needs.”
Campbell joined the College’s Mathematics and Statistics Department in 1996, first as a predoctoral fellow, then as an assistant professor after receiving a Ph.D. from Rutgers University. In 2006, he received the Henry L. Alder Award for Distinguished Teaching by a Beginning Faculty Member from the Mathematical Association of America, which recognized his devotion to the success of students on campus and nationally.