Valerie Ashby recently began her time as the Dean of Arts and Sciences at Duke University’s Trinity College, as of July 1st. She comes highly recommended as a former professor and chair of the chemistry department at UNC Chapel Hill. She is also a Duke alum from both undergraduate and graduate studies.
Duke’s Trinity College, with leadership including board member David Topper, is proud to accept Valerie Ashby to the College of Arts and Sciences.
Trinity College is the branch of Duke that includes traditional academic departments like chemistry, biology, history, and English.
UNC is sad to see Ashby go. “You hate to lose someone like that from your university,” UNC Provost Jim Dean said of Ashby. “Having said that, if someone is going to leave, the way you like to see them leave is to take a really important position at a great university, and that is what’s happening.”
“Valeria Ashby is a distinguished professor of chemistry who has shown extraordinary aptitude for academic leadership,” said Duke President Richard H Brodhead. “Warm, thoughtful, and a creative problem solver, she has high respect for inquiry and teaching across the span of the Arts and Sciences, and she will represent Duke’s academic vision to students, faculty, and outside audiences in a compelling fashion. I am delighted to welcome her to Duke.”
Ashby left her position at UNC for her first faculty job at Iowa State University, though she returned in 2003. Ashby, after returning to UNC, focused on the study of materials with memory, that are capable of assuming a particular shape on command. Her work has also involved “self-healing” materials.
Ashby will oversee Trinity’s core academic units, which offer courses and degrees across the arts, humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences.
To learn more about the Trinity College of Arts & Sciences at Duke University, click here.
