Inside Iowa State: Iowa State University

March 12, 2004

Whiteford named to LAS dean post

by Annette Hacker
Michael Whiteford, who has served as interim dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences since last September, will fill the position permanently beginning April 1.

Whiteford has 32 years of experience at Iowa State as a professor of anthropology, department chair and associate dean for administrative affairs in the LAS college. He succeeds Peter Rabideau, who accepted the position of provost and vice president for academic affairs at Mississippi State University in July 2003.

"Mike Whiteford has maintained the highest level of excellence as a scholar, teacher and administrator in his long and distinguished career at Iowa State University," said President Gregory Geoffroy. "He clearly is an outstanding choice to lead Iowa State's largest and broadest college."

Whiteford's appointment follows a six-month national search by a 23-member search committee. Mark Engelbrecht, dean of the College of Design, headed the committee.

"Dr. Whiteford is greatly respected as a leader, researcher and teacher," said Benjamin Allen, vice president for academic affairs and provost. "We are pleased that he will continue to serve Iowa State, as he has done so capably for more than three decades."

Recruiting and retaining a diverse faculty is among Whiteford's goals as LAS dean.

Whiteford joined the Iowa State faculty in 1972. His research interests focus on alternative curing practices and healthcare decision-making processes in Latin America. He has worked in Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico.

He is co-author (with John Friedl) of an introductory anthropology textbook, The Human Portrait. With his brother, Scott, Whiteford edited Crossing Currents: Continuity and Change in Latin America. Whiteford also has edited the Society for Applied Anthropology's quarterly newsletter for the past nine years. He has taught 17 courses at Iowa State.

Whiteford earned a bachelor's degree (1967) from Beloit College, Wisconsin, and master's (1970) and doctorate (1972) degrees from the University of California, Berkeley.