University of Delaware
Office of Public Relations
UpDate - Vol. 16, No. 20, Feb. 20, 1997

           Arts & science dean to return to faculty in June
  
  Mary Richards, dean of the College of Arts and Science
since 1991, will step down as dean on June 30 and return to
the faculty.
  In a letter to the college, Richards said, "It has been a
privilege to be your dean for six years of significant
change within the college and the University.
  "Because this year will bring the accomplishment of the
goals that motivated my agreeing to a second term as dean,
it seemed a good time for me to proceed to the next phase of
my academic career and for the college to prepare for new
leadership. I have enjoyed working with all of you for the
benefit of the college," she said.
  "I thank Dr. Richards for her leadership and contribution
to the College of Arts and Science and her service to the
University," Provost Mel Schiavelli said. "I look forward to
her new accomplishments and contributions as she rejoins the
faculty."
  "I will soon be appointing an interim dean, and we'll be
forming a search committee to find a replacement," he said.
  In 1995, Richards served as president of the Council of
Colleges of Arts and Science (CCAS), a nationwide
organization representing individual liberal arts colleges
as well as colleges of arts and science within comprehensive
research universities. Membership includes more than 430
private and public institutions throughout the United States
and Canada.
  Richards came to Delaware to serve as dean after serving
three years as dean of liberal arts at Auburn University.
  Her academic career began in 1971 at the University of
Tennessee, where she served in several roles, including
assistant to the vice president for academic affairs,
director of undergraduate studies in the Department of
English, assistant dean for graduate studies, associate dean
of the Graduate School in Knoxville and associate dean and
then acting dean of the College of Liberal Arts there.
  Known for her scholarly work in Old English literature
and law, she has served as executive director of the
International Society of Anglo-Saxonists and has written the
influential monograph, Texts and Their Traditions in the
Medieval Library of Rochester Cathedral Priory, and the
book, Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts: Basic Readings.
  A Phi Beta Kappa graduate with English honors from
Southern Methodist University, Richards holds master's and
doctoral degrees from the University of Wisconsin in
Madison.