Karen Wassarman, CALS associate dean for academic affairs, will step back from leading the Office of Academic Affairs in August. She assumed the associate dean position in 2018 and led the college’s student services and academic programs through the extremely challenging pandemic years, when both instruction and student learning were significantly disrupted.

“Professor Wassarman has had a long and productive career at UW–Madison, and her passion for elevating the CALS student experience will have a lasting impact on the college,” says Dean Glenda Gillaspy. “Her efforts during the pandemic ensured that faculty, staff and students could continue to engage in the learning process during a difficult time.”

Under her leadership, the college launched new majors in global health and animal and veterinary biosciences, undergraduate certificates in organic agriculture and science communication, and professional masters programs in agricultural and applied economics (professional option), and environmental remediation management. She revamped the college’s honors program for undergraduates, created advising hubs serving multiple academic programs and oversaw the launch of the successful QuickStart summer start program for incoming first-year students. During her tenure, the Always Forward Capital Campaign raised $18.5 million in new gifts to support CALS students.

The college’s Office of Academic Affairs has 22 staff who oversee academic program development and assessment, student advising and student recruitment. CALS offers more than 70 academic programs and enrolls 2,800 undergraduate and 950 graduate students.

Prior to leading academic affairs, Wassarman’s faculty research program utilized molecular, biochemical and genetic approaches to study bacterial small RNAs, and her work facilitated discovery of key regulatory functions for these molecules. A faculty member in the Department of Bacteriology, she has a long history of campus-wide service. She co-chaired the UW–Madison biology major and served on the CALS Academic Planning Council.

Wassarman will be working on projects that further STEM education and advising in support of the college’s educational missions.

Dean Gillaspy named Paul Mitchell, professor and extension crop economic specialist in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, as the interim associate dean for academic affairs. Mitchell will begin on Aug. 1, 2023, and will have an office in Agricultural Hall.