COAS leader leaves behind strong legacy

When Joseph Steinmetz leaves IU this summer, he will leave behind 19 years of progress and leadership.\nThe executive associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, who first came to IU in 1987, will leave July 1, when he goes to the University of Kansas to assume his duties as dean of KU's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.\nCOAS Dean Kumble Subbaswamy said Steinmetz is a good faculty leader who functions well in an administrative role.\n"Dr. Steinmetz is what I would consider to be an ideal faculty member," Subbaswamy said. "He is a natural leader: visionary, unselfish, even-handed and decisive. It is no wonder his departmental colleagues wanted him to be their leader three terms in a row."\nSteinmetz, who is a psychology professor and department chair, said he is excited to continue his work at KU.\n"KU is strikingly similar to IU in many respects, and this is a major reason I accepted the dean position there," he said. "I hope to build on existing strengths in the liberal arts and humanities (at KU)."\nSteinmetz was hired as a professor in 1987 and was tenured in 1991. He was promoted to department chair in 1995 and became a COAS administrator in 2005.\nAs a psychology professor, Steinmetz works with undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral students in his laboratory. His research focuses on learning and memory processes in mammals.\n"I have been fortunate to have outstanding students who have worked with me over the years, and it has always been very rewarding to see their careers blossom after leaving IU," he said.\nSteinmetz is second-in-command in his position in COAS.\n"He is a part of the leadership team that helps draw up plans and priorities and translate them into budget allocations," Subbaswamy said. "He oversees faculty hiring, promotion and merit evaluation processes. He also represents the College (of Arts and Sciences) at campus and University levels."\nWhen he moves to KU in July, Steinmetz will lead one of the university's largest colleges. Rather than immediately making major changes, he hopes to improve the existing programs.\n"My end goal is to maintain a strong and balanced college that provides students with a high-quality arts and sciences experience built on high-quality faculty research and scholarship," Steinmetz said.\nSubbaswamy and Steinmetz agreed that a replacement COAS official will require strong leadership qualities and the ability to work well with a large faculty.\n"Associate deans need to understand the complexities that exist in the College, which is a very large and complicated academic unit," Steinmetz said. "This requires that an associate dean have good working relationships with department chairs and program directors, since progress in the College is largely determined by chairs and deans working together."\nSteinmetz and Subbaswamy will both leave IU on July 1. Subbaswamy will become provost at the University of Kentucky.