For immediate release: October 3, 2003
For more information, Randy Sands, Case Western Reserve University Media Relations, Weber Shandwick, Office 952.346.6191, Mobile 612.669.8708

CLEVELAND—Case Western Reserve University President Edward M. Hundert, M.D., and the Case Board of Trustees today announced the appointment of Dr. Mark Turner as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. Turner, who is on leave from the University of Maryland where he is a distinguished university professor, currently serves as the associate director of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University. His appointment is effective March 1, 2004.

Mark Turner

"Dr. Turner is one of the most influential and interdisciplinary scholars in the nation," Hundert said. "His innovative work on human cognition bridges the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences, and will help fulfill the university's vision to become the most powerful learning environment in the world."

Turner, who will be introduced to the Case campus today, said he is invigorated by the vision of the university and the talent of its faculty, staff and students. "Case is reinventing education," he said. "I look forward to leading the College of Arts and Sciences as it continues its journey in rethinking liberal education and learning."

Case's national search committee reviewed many candidates for the position. Turner emerged as the finalist and completed a final round of meetings with members of the College of Arts and Sciences and leaders of University Circle, the cultural, medical and educational district adjacent to the Case campus.

"Dr. Turner is the leading example of interdisciplinary scholarship in the world," Hundert said. "He will be a visionary dean who will lead not just the College of Arts and Sciences, but the university in reinventing liberal learning for the 21st century."

For example, Case will invest an additional $35 million in the College of Arts and Sciences undergraduate and graduate programs in the next three years. As part of the university's investment plan and under Turner's leadership, the College of Arts and Sciences will recruit the first 10 new faculty members by summer 2005. In addition, the college will continue to reform traditional curriculum with programs such as SAGES, Case's Seminar Approach to General Education and Scholarship.

Cyrus Taylor, a Case professor of physics, led the national search advisory committee. "As an administrator, Dr. Turner has been praised for his collaborative leadership and management style, for his ability to create excitement for innovative academic programs, and for his energetic ability to marshal resources for interdisciplinary scholarship," Taylor said.

Dr. Bruce Latimer, executive director of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History and member of the search committee, said Turner's appointment represents myriad opportunities for the museum, University Circle, the greater Cleveland community, and beyond.

"As a leading resource for public education and environmental conservation, the Cleveland Museum of Natural History looks forward to continuing and enhancing the strong partnership we have with Case," Latimer said. "Dr. Turner will bring new ideas and a fresh perspective to expanding the educational and cultural experiences among students, organizations, businesses, and residents of Cleveland."

About Dr. Mark Turner

Dr. Mark Turner, will assume his position as dean of the Case College of Arts and Sciences March 1, 2004. He currently serves as the associate director of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, located at Stanford University. He is on leave from his position as a distinguished university professor at the University of Maryland, where he serves in the Department of English Language and Literature and the doctoral program in neuroscience and cognitive science. As both academic and operational leader for the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford, Turner also has responsibility for all budgeting, fundraising, personnel management, selection of fellows, information technology, and planning.

Turner earned two bachelor of arts degrees at the University of California, Berkeley, in English and mathematics, both with great distinction. He continued on at Berkeley to earn masters in both fields as well, and then a Ph.D. in English. During his career, he has been a fellow of the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, the National Humanities Center, and the Institute for Advanced Study (School of Social Sciences) at Princeton, in addition to having been elected a fellow of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences twice. He is a laureate of the Académie française and has held visiting appointments at the University of California, San Diego; Stanford; the Collège de France; and universities throughout Europe.

In addition to numerous articles, chapters, and reviews, Dr. Turner's books include "Cognitive Dimensions of Social Science: The Way We Think about Politics, Economics, Law, and Society" (Oxford); "The Literary Mind: The Origins of Thought and Language" (Oxford); "Reading Minds: The Study of English in the Age of Cognitive Science" (Princeton); and "Death is the Mother of Beauty" (Chicago). His co-authored books include "The Way We Think: Conceptual Blending and the Mind's Hidden Complexities" (Basic Books); "Figurative Language and Thought" (Oxford); "Clear and Simple as the Truth: Writing Classic Prose" (Princeton); and "More than Cool Reason: a Field Guide to Poetic Metaphor" (Chicago). He is currently guest editor of the "International Shakespearean Yearbook" and is editing a volume titled "The Artful Mind."

Turner has been a professor at the University of Maryland since 1992, and was named one of the university's 25 distinguished university professors in 2001. He has set new academic directions for programs at the University of Maryland and at interdisciplinary centers around the country.

About Case Western Reserve University

Case is among the nation's leading research institutions. Founded in 1826 and shaped by the unique merger of the Case Institute of Technology and Western Reserve University, Case is distinguished by its strengths in education, research, and service. Located in Cleveland, Case offers nationally recognized programs in the Arts and Sciences, Dentistry, Engineering, Law, Management, Medicine, Nursing, and Social Sciences. http://www.case.edu.

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