By Ashley Meeks
LAS CRUCES — New Mexico State University has chosen a new dean for the College of Health and Social Services, a spokes-man confirmed Wednesday.
Tilahun Adera, 60, a senior associate dean for public health and a professor of epidemiology and community health at Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, will start July 1. His annual salary is $165,000.
Robert Rhodes will serve as interim dean until that time.
Four finalists were chosen for the position — Adera, two other outside candidates, and Luis Vazquez, associate dean of NMSU’s Graduate School. A dean was to have been picked by the end of fall semester, according to a news release from University Communications at the time.
Vazquez was chosen last spring to fill in for associate dean Larry Olsen, who was fired after e-mailing pornography to a professor, and department head James Robinson, who stepped down during the investigation and is now a professor of health science.
Adera earned a pharmacy degree from Addis Ababa University in his native Ethiopia, two master’s degrees — in environmental health from Oregon State University, and in public health at the University of Washington — and a doctorate in public health from Oregon State.
In a statement, Adera said he was honored to become dean.
“I am tremendously impressed by the breadth and depth of accomplishments at the university,” Adera said. “Working with partners to improve the health and well-being of all New Mexicans will be a major priority. In addition, we will continue to be committed to education, research and service excellence.”
Adera said he hopes to increase external funding, create more advanced degree programs and improve the quality of both students and faculty.
In addition to his current position at Virginia Commonwealth University, Adera was a professor of epidemiology at Oregon State University as well as at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, in Bethesda, Md.
Bob Moulton, interim executive vice president and provost praised Adera’s credentials, experience and work in public health.
“I am confident he will lead the College of Health and Social Services effectively and know he has the support of NMSU and our partners,” Moulton said in a prepared statement. “His knowledge and expertise across a range of disciplines will be extremely valuable as the college continues to grow and expand its educational, research and service programs.”
To see Tilahun Adera’s résumé, click here.