AMES, Iowa -- Cheryl Achterberg, inaugural dean of Iowa State University's College of Human Sciences, has accepted a position at The Ohio State University, Columbus, effective July 1.
Achterberg will become dean of Ohio State's College of Education and Human Ecology. The college, formed in 2006 following a merger of two colleges, serves approximately 5,000 students.
Achterberg has led ISU's College of Human Sciences since September 2005, shortly after it was established with the combination of the former colleges of Education and Family and Consumer Sciences.
"Cheryl Achterberg was the ideal person to be the first dean of our new College of Human Sciences, and I am very grateful for her outstanding service to the university," Iowa State University President Gregory Geoffroy said. "She has provided tremendous leadership in unifying the college from its predecessor colleges, giving it a distinctive identity and vision, and setting it on the course for a very successful future."
During her tenure at Iowa State, Achterberg recruited three new department chairs and an interim chair, led a university-wide effort to improve the supply and preparation of math and science teachers for K-12 and the community colleges, and established the Nutrition Wellness Research Center with Diane Birt as the interim director.
"Dean Achterberg's holistic vision for the future of this new college has provided an important unifying force at a critical time for the college. She leaves an important legacy," said ISU Executive Vice President and Provost Elizabeth Hoffman.
Prior to joining Iowa State, Achterberg was a professor and founding dean of the Schreyer Honors College at The Pennsylvania State University, University Park. She also served as co-director and later director of the Penn State Nutrition Center from 1985 to 1996.
Executive Vice President and Provost Hoffman will appoint an interim dean to head the College of Human Sciences while a search is conducted for a new permanent dean.
