Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Tom Peterson announced on Monday the appointment of Elizabeth (Betsy) Dumont as the third Dean of the School of Natural Sciences at UC Merced effective August 1, 2017. Dr. Dumont is currently the Vice Provost for Academic Affairs and a professor of biology at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
In his announcement to the campus community, Provost Peterson stated, "Dr. Dumont brings a distinguished and varied track record of leadership in higher education to UC Merced, as well as a strong interest in engaging faculty, staff, and students in strategic academic and administrative planning for the School of Natural Sciences."
She received her bachelor's degree with honors in anthropology from the Indiana University Bloomington and her Ph.D. in physical anthropology from Stony Brook University in New York. Her research is focused on the morphology and diversification of vertebrates, with current grants to study the biomechanics of shark jaws and the evolution of sensory structures in bats.
