Senior Associate Dean Sam Huckaba of the College of Arts and Sciences has been appointed interim dean of the college, succeeding Joseph Travis, an award-winning biologist who leaves the position to spend more time on his research.

The new appointment, which has already taken effect, was announced July 28 by Robert Bradley, who at the time was serving as interim provost and executive vice president for academic affairs.

“Dean Travis has provided steady leadership to the College of Arts and Sciences during a transformative period in the university’s history, and we are grateful Sam Huckaba has agreed to take over the reins,” Bradley said. “Professor Huckaba is a very experienced and measured decision maker, and we can feel confident that the college is in good hands.”

Huckaba, whose tenure home is the Department of Mathematics, was named an associate dean of the college in 2004, having joined the Florida State faculty in 1987 after earning his Ph.D. in mathematics from Purdue University. While on the FSU faculty, he has won several teaching awards, FSU’s Developing Scholar Award, and has published research in areas of pure mathematics that include commutative algebra and algebraic geometry. He also has interests in applications of algebra to cryptography and coding.

“I am honored to have been asked to step in as interim dean,” Huckaba said. “I care about the success of the College of Arts and Sciences and look forward to working hard on its behalf. During my years as associate dean, I have had the pleasure of observing the many contributions of the college’s faculty, staff, and students. They are what make Arts and Sciences successful, and I look forward to joining with them to move the college forward.”

To read more, go to http://fsu.edu/news/2011/07/28/huckaba.dean/