A new interim dean was named to the OU Honors College by Senior Vice President and Provost André-Denis Wright on Friday.
Kelvin White was named to the position effective Nov. 1, pending approval by the OU Board of Regents according to a university press release. The college has been without a dean since 2017 when David Ray was replaced by interim Dean Doug Gaffin.
Kelvin White was named as the OU Honors College interim dean on Oct. 27.
White previously served as associate professor of information studies and senior associate dean for faculty and community in the Dodge Family College of Arts and Sciences.
White joined OU in 2008 as an assistant professor. Later, in his role as senior associate dean, he oversaw all faculty-related policies and processes, such as evaluations, tenure and promotions, sabbatical leaves, faculty recruitment and retention.
His research examines the interconnections between the social, cultural and historical contexts in record keeping activities and the impacts on marginalized or underrepresented communities, according to the release.
Alongside serving as an associate professor and associate dean, White’s influence extends to the archival community. He has served as a co-principal investigator of the Archival Education and Research Institute, an archival education programs initiative to train, support and education academics in the field.
White will take over for the current Honors College interim Dean Rich Hamerla who has chosen to return to teaching and scholarship. Hamerla has served as interim dean since August 2020.
This story was edited by Alexia Aston and Taylor Jones. Cooper Marshall and Nikkie Aisha copy edited this story.
