ROCK HILL, SOUTH CAROLINA — Winthrop University administrators announced yesterday
that Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs
Debra Boyd has appointed
Takita Felder Sumter, professor of biochemistry and a Provost Faculty Fellow, as the
interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences for a one-year term, beginning Aug. 1, 2017. A national search will begin in Fall
2017 to fill the position on a more permanent basis.
She replaces Karen Kedrowski, who is assuming a
new role as executive director of the Center for Civic Learning.
Sumter will provide leadership to
Winthrop's largest degree-granting college-including 14 departments and five centers-and will oversee more than 300 full- and
part-time faculty and staff and a $16.3 million budget. "Providing meaningful learning
experiences for our students is intrinsic to the work of the Winthrop community. I
am honored to serve as interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, one of the
campus' most diverse and important units. In fact, it's difficult to imagine working
with a more talented group of faculty, staff and students than those in the College
of Arts and Sciences," said Sumter.
Boyd said that the College of Arts and Sciences and Winthrop will benefit from Sumter's
effective leadership. "
Takita is well-respected by all who know and work with her, and she will
move the college forward on a number of initiatives. She has made exceptional contributions to student intellectual development and support,
to her discipline's scholarship through publications and grants, and through her professional
stewardship at Winthrop."
Sumter has served in a number of varied leadership roles, including her service as
the first Provost's Faculty Fellow and as interim chair of the
Department of Human Nutrition.
Sumter frequently publishes in refereed scientific journals and makes editorial contributions to professional publications, including Science's
Nextwave and American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Today, that reflect
her interest in the professional development of the next generation of scientists.
Her professional commitment to fostering the interests of minorities in science is
seen in her service as chair of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Minority Affairs
Committee. She is currently co-leading the society's Interactive Mentoring Activities
for Grantsmanship Enhancement program, a $500,000 National Science Foundation-funded
initiative to mentor early-career faculty across the country. She was recently elected
to the ASBMB Council, one of nine councilors elected nationwide.
Sumter is a professor of biochemistry in the
Department of Chemistry, Physics, Geology & the Environment at Winthrop.
She received her Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of South Carolina and completed
a post-doctoral fellowship at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine prior
to joining the faculty at Winthrop in 2004.
Takita Felder Sumter, professor of biochemistry and a Provost Faculty Fellow, will
serve as the interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences for a one-year term,
beginning Aug. 1.
