Pat Okker will be the interim dean of the College of Arts and Science effective August 1, Provost Garnett Stokes announced on Friday in a news release.
Okker, who is currently a senior associate provost, joined MU in 1990 as an assistant professor of English. Since then, she has been promoted to professor and has served as the chair of the English department, and she currently works in the provost’s office.
She has received multiple awards, the news release stated, including the William T. Kemper Fellowship for Teaching Excellence and the Faculty–Alumni Award.
Okker said she is honored to have been chosen as the interim dean.
“I am honored to have this opportunity to serve the College of Arts and Science, my academic home for more than 25 years, and I look forward to working with the remarkable students, faculty, staff and alumni of Arts and Science to make this great college even stronger,” she said in an email.
Stokes said Okker has chosen A. Cooper Drury, the current chair of the political science department, as a new associate dean of the College of Arts and Science. Stokes called his experiences at MU “tremendous assets,” according to the release.
Former Dean Michael O’Brien [announced his resignation](https://www.themaneater.com/stories/2016/6/5/college-arts-and-science-dean-michael-obrien-leave/) in June and stepped down Friday to take a position as provost and vice president for academic affairs at Texas A&M–San Antonio. Since his resignation, Associate Dean Ted Tarkow has served as acting dean.
According to the release, a national search for a permanent dean will begin early in the fall semester.
_Edited by Nancy Coleman | ncoleman@themaneater.com_