Dean of Hutton Honors College to leave IU

Matthew Auer, dean of the Hutton Honors College and a professor in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs, will not be returning to IU next fall. 

Auer has accepted an offer to become dean of the faculty and vice president of academic affairs at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, according to an e-mail Auer sent to Honors College affiliates.

Auer will succeed Pamela J. Baker, who has been vice president of academic affairs and dean of the faculty at Bates since 2011.

“Matthew Auer is a leading scholar and globally engaged expert in the arenas of environmental policy, energy policy, sustainable development and foreign aid,” Bates College President A. Clayton Spencer said in a press release.

Spencer went on to call Auer a dynamic and effective leader who focused his energy on improving programs for undergraduates at IU through his leadership in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs and the Hutton Honors College.

“I am so pleased that we have found a scholar, teacher and collaborative leader of Matt’s stature to lead our faculty in this time of great challenge and promise in higher education,” Spencer said.

In the release, Auer expressed his excitement at his appointment.

“I am thrilled and honored to join Bates,” Auer said. “Bates has been on my radar screen for years. It’s an exciting time to lead the faculty, and I can’t wait to get to work.”

In the e-mail Auer sent to affiliates of the Honors College, he expressed his deep gratitude to the staff, faculty and students. He deemed the Honors College staff and faculty the “basic embodiment” of the Honors College itself.

“Yes, our students are incredible too,” Auer said in the e-mail. “They never cease to amaze me. But staff members, in particular, are the stable parts of the enterprise. It’s amazing to be part of an academic unit whose staff are intellectually and emotionally in sync with the students, year after year. I haven’t encountered that, with such consistency, anywhere else on campus, or for that matter, anywhere else, period. Conceivably, I’ll find something comparable in my new job, but if not, I know what to aim for.”

Hutton Honors College Assistant Dean Lynn Cochran has worked closely with Auer since his appointment in 2008. She described him as being a role model to the students in the Honors College.

“When they’re put into situations where they have to sort of think about what is the right thing to do in this situation, I think they actually will think of Matt Auer and think, ‘what would Matt do in this situation,’ because he is such a compassionate real person who tries to do the right thing,” Cochran said. “That’s the kind of person we wanted to head up Honors, someone who Honors students could look to as a role model.”

Though his departure from the Honors College will be difficult, Cochran said, she knows he is looking forward to working with President Spencer.

“I know that’s what he will bring to Bates,” Cochran said. “That he’s the kind of person students will want to be like.”

Auer said he would be around IU in the days and weeks ahead until July 1, when his new job at Bates College begins.

“Thanks for five incredible years and for your professionalism and your friendship,” Auer said in the e-mail.

Arnell Hammond, director of diversity and student services and senior academic advisor in the Hutton Honors College, echoed Cochran’s thoughts and said Auer will be missed by many.

“When I told my colleagues at the Multicultural Work Group meeting yesterday that Matt was leaving, there was a loud chorus of ‘oh no’s,’” Hammond said in an e-mail. “Matt has been a tireless, behind-the-scenes champion of diversity efforts across campus. He is forward-thinking and genuinely cares about the well-being of IU students and the staff of the HHC. Personally, I think he is the best boss ever, and just a wonderful human being. He will be missed dearly.”