Slakey Named Interim Dean of Commonwealth College Daniel Fitzgibbons CHRONICLE STAFF July 14, 2000 Linda Slakey, dean of the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, has been appointed to a three-year term as interim dean of Commonwealth College, effective Sept. 1. The appointment was announced this week by Cora B. Marrett, senior vice chancellor for Academic Affairs and provost. Marrett described Slakey as a "proven and well-respected" administrator. "I am confident she will guide Commonwealth College toward further excellence," she said. The appointment follows a national search that "was closed because it was completed unsuccessfully," according to deputy provost John Cunningham. Earlier this year, five candidates, including interim dean Linda Nolan, were interviewed for the post. Nolan has since accepted an American Council on Education fellowship for the coming academic year. Slakey described her appointment as dean of Commonwealth College as a "very exciting opportunity and as a natural continuation of my many years of commitment to undergraduate education and especially to the integration of research with the undergraduate experience." Slakey was named dean of the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics in 1993. Prior to that, she chaired the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from 1986-91. She was named professor of Biochemistry in 1987. Slakey joined the faculty in 1973. She received her bachelor of science degree in chemistry from Siena Heights University in 1962 and earned a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Michigan in 1967.