Provost Cowley has appointed Dr. Pamela Padilla to serve as the Dean of the College of Science, effective June 16, 2021, per UNT Policy 06.002 Academic Appointments. Dr. Padilla previously served as the Associate Vice President for Research and Innovation, and prior to that she served as the Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies in the College of Science. Dr. Padilla has numerous distinctions and achievements and brings a wealth of experience in leadership, research, teaching, and advancing diversity and inclusion.

"I greatly appreciate Dr. Padilla's willingness to step in and support an immediate transition," said Provost Cowley. "I know you will all join me in welcoming Dr. Padilla as our new Dean."

The transition announcement was made very recently in light of Dr. Su Gao announcing a leave of absence in order to care for family members. Dr. Gao will be remaining at UNT in his faculty position to continue his research with the UNT Mathematics Department.

"It has been an honor to be your Dean in the last several years. I want to thank all of you for your partnership and support in my work as Dean," said Dr. Gao in a letter to the UNT Science community. "Together we have accomplished a lot and have brought the college up to a new level of success. I am proud of the progress we made in all areas of importance thanks to the work of our faculty, staff, and students, including research, teaching, advising, diversity and inclusion, outreach, advancement, and communications."

Dr. Su Gao has had a long career at UNT, starting as an assistant professor in 2000. He went on to serve as the chair of the Mathematics Department was the founding dean of the College of Science in 2017. His collaborative leadership has been integral to the college's continued growth, helping to make gains in student success, garner significant gifts to support the college's mission, deepen UNT's research impact, and foster a strong culture.

"At the last Board of Regents meeting, I was proud to speak on the success the college has had in reducing students' time to graduate as a result of curricular changes and increased student support services," said Provost Cowley. "I know we all wish Dean Gao the very best as he makes this transition."

"We have outstanding leaders among our program and institute directors, chairs and associate chairs, undergraduate and graduate advisors, and assistant and associate deans," said Dean Gao. "I am confident that the college is in good hands and is on its way to greater success in the future."

Dr. Padilla has been appointed to a two-year term as Dean of the College.

Dr. Padilla's research, which has been continually supported by the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation, focuses on how environmental and dietary stress affects living organisms at the cellular, genetic and molecular levels as a means to model human health issues including ischemia and diabetes. She has received numerous fellowships and grants including a NSF CAREER award. She earned her Ph.D. in biology from the University of New Mexico, conducted her post-doctoral research at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Washington and was a visiting scholar at the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California.

Read the University's press release about the COS Dean transition here: https://news.unt.edu/news-releases/pamela-padilla-appointed-dean-unts-co...