Larry Gladney Named Associate Dean for the Natural Sciences

Steven Fluharty, Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, has announced the appointment of Larry Gladney, Edmund J. and Louise W. Kahn Professor for Faculty Excellence, as Associate Dean for Natural Sciences, effective July 1, 2014. In this role he will oversee the Departments of Biology, Chemistry, Earth and Environmental Science, Linguistics, Mathematics, Physics and Astronomy, and Psychology, as well as several research centers.

Gladney is currently chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy and holds a secondary appointment in the Graduate School of Education.  His distinguished scholarship focuses on experimental high energy physics and cosmology. He is a member of the Supernova Cosmology Working Group for the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope project, a proposed ground-based observatory designed to measure the expansion of the universe and determine the nature of the dark energy that is accelerating this expansion. He is the recipient of the Edward A. Bouchet Award from the American Physical Society and the Martin Luther King Jr. Lecturer Award from Wayne State University.

Gladney is a former chair of Penn's Faculty Senate. In addition to his impressive record of teaching innovation at Penn, he has long worked in support of science education at the middle and high school levels.  He was Director and Principal Investigator of the Penn Science Teacher Institute from 2008 to 2012 and is a member of the Faculty Advisory Board of the Netter Center for Community Partnerships, where he has recently been named a Distinguished Fellow. 

In announcing Gladney’s appointment, Fluharty said, “I am confident that with his broad range of expertise as a scientist, educator, and administrator, Larry will be an excellent advocate for the School's science programs.”

Gladney will succeed Richard Schultz, the Charles and William L. Day Distinguished Professor of Biology, who is completing six years as Associate Dean.