Gary G. Bennett has been appointed dean of the Trinity College of Arts & Sciences at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. The college includes divisions in arts & humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences and serves 80 percent of Duke University’s undergraduate population as well as hundreds of graduate students in a wide array of master’s degree and Ph.D. programs. Dr. Bennett will begin his new duties on February 1.
Dr. Bennett has been serving as vice provost for undergraduate education. In this role, he has oversight of 15 units including academic advising, merit scholar programs, financial aid, study abroad, and co-curricular programs. He also is the Bishop McDermott Family Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience, Global Health, and Medicine at Duke. Dr. Bennett worked as a faculty member at the Harvard School of Public Health and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute prior to joining Duke in 2009. He is a former president of the Society of Behavioral Medicine.
“I have spent the better part of my career here at Duke,” Professor Bennett said. “The Trinity College community has helped me grow as a scholar, as an instructor, and as an academic leader. It is my home. Our primary goal should be enhancing the college’s strength as a nationally eminent scholarly community. I will champion our faculty’s efforts to break ground, illuminate truths and transform students’ lives. I plan to continue Trinity’s efforts to recruit and retain a diverse community of inspiring minds, support the faculty’s efforts to reimagine the undergraduate curriculum, and prepare our graduate students for a world of new opportunities.”
Dr. Bennett is a graduate of Morehouse College in Atlanta. He holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in psychology from Duke University.