Minerva Schools at KGI Names Vicki Chandler Dean of the College of Natural Sciences

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 13, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The Minerva Schools at KGI, offering a reinvented university experience for the brightest and most motivated students from around the world, today announced the appointment of Dr. Vicki L. Chandler as Dean of the College of Natural Sciences.

"We are thrilled to welcome Vicki, an internationally renowned scientist and accomplished educator, to the Minerva team," said Dr. Stephen M. Kosslyn, Founding Dean. "Her impressive career spans the fields of education, science and non-profit leadership, and we look forward to her contributions to our Natural Sciences programs. At the same time, we are also grateful to Dr. Jim Sterling, who has served as interim dean of the College of Natural Sciences and will continue to serve as the director of the Minerva Labs and teach the cornerstone course this semester."

Dr. Chandler joins Minerva from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, where she is currently the Chief Program Officer and leads the Science Program, which invests approximately $100 million per year to advance scientific innovation and discovery across a breadth of scientific areas.  She is an emeritus Regents' Professor in the Departments of Plant Sciences and the BIO5 Institute, at the University of Arizona. She was also previously on the faculty at the University of Oregon. Throughout her academic career she taught undergraduate and graduate courses in Biology, Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology. Dr. Chandler begins at Minerva immediately and will continue to work with the Moore Foundation through the Spring 2015 term while they recruit and hire her successor.

Dr. Chandler has conducted research on the epigenetic control of gene expression in plants and animals for three decades, with funding from the National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Agriculture and National Institutes of Health. Her honors and awards include a Presidential Young Investigator Award, Searle Scholar Award, the NSF Faculty Award for Women Scientists and Engineers, and the NIH Director's Pioneer Award. She was appointed to the National Science Board in 2014 by President Obama and was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2002, later serving on its governing council from 2007-2010. She has served extensively on national advisory boards and panels for NSF, DOE, USDA, NIH, HHMI and the National Academies of Science.  She received her BA from the University of California, Berkeley and her PhD from the University of California San Francisco and was a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University.

"I am excited and humbled to join the Minerva team," said Dr. Vicki Chandler. "I look forward to working directly with students again and designing an innovative curriculum for the Natural Sciences.  The interdisciplinary approach at Minerva and the focus on helping students master habits of mind and foundational concepts through active learning brings new opportunities for innovative pedagogy in the Natural Sciences."

Minerva is currently growing its team of faculty as its undergraduate program scales. Application details for full-time faculty can be viewed at https://minerva.kgi.edu/careers/. Additionally, students interested in applying to matriculate in the Fall of 2015 are encouraged to do so by the Regular Decision deadline of January 15, 2015. Students may apply at https://minerva.kgi.edu/application/start/.

About Minerva Schools at KGI

The Minerva Schools at KGI offer a reinvented university experience for the brightest, most motivated students from around the world. Combining an interdisciplinary curriculum and rigorous academic standards, an accomplished faculty versed in the science of learning, an advanced interactive learning platform leveraging cutting-edge technology, and four years of immersive global experience, Minerva will deliver an exceptional liberal arts and sciences education for future leaders and innovators in every discipline. The Minerva Schools at KGI were established in 2013 by KGI (Keck Graduate Institute) in alliance with Minerva Project and have been granted accreditation by WASC (Western Association of Schools and Colleges). www.minerva.kgi.edu

SOURCE Minerva Schools at KGI

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