Robert F. Olin Named Dean of UA College of Arts and Sciences

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Dr. Robert F. Olin, professor of mathematics and head of the department of mathematics at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., has been named dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at The University of Alabama.

The College of Arts and Sciences is the University’s largest division with over 6,000 students and 320 faculty members and is the largest publicly funded liberal arts college in Alabama.

Dr. Nancy S. Barrett, UA provost and vice president for academic affairs, announced the appointment.

“Dr. Olin is known throughout the country for his thoughtful and creative approach to graduate and undergraduate education and for his scholarship. The Mathematics Emporium at Virginia Tech, which he spearheaded, is a national model for innovative mathematics education and for the use of technology in instruction. Dr. Olin is also an internationally recognized mathematics scholar with a strong administrative record and a deep commitment to the liberal arts. We look forward to working with him,” Barrett said.

Virginia Tech’s Mathematics Emporium was founded in 1997 by Olin and has received national recognition for its self-paced, computer-assisted program of mathematics instruction. The Emporium provides mathematics instruction to 7,200 students in over 20 courses and has been featured in The Chronicle of Higher Education and The Wall Street Journal. In the last three years, the Emporium has been asked to present seminars on its math instruction program to over 500 universities, colleges, and private businesses.

Olin has been a faculty member at Virginia Tech for 25 years and head of Virginia Tech’s department of mathematics for six years. Under his leadership, the department of mathematics was named Exemplary Department in Virginia Tech’s College of Arts and Sciences and a University Exemplary Department. Last year, it received Virginia Tech’s XCaliber Team Award given for excellence by a team of faculty and staff in integrating technology in teaching. The department has established two endowed faculty chairs, expanded its graduate program, and increased access to mathematics courses for Virginia’s secondary teachers through on-line instruction.

“I am delighted and honored to serve The University of Alabama as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. I will strive to continue the excellent leadership provided by James Yarbrough. My energies will be directed to serving the students, faculty, and staff. As Alabama’s largest public liberal arts college, the College of Arts and Sciences plays a major role in enriching the quality of life for Alabamians, their communities, and their industries through its teaching, research, and outreach. I look forward to working with College faculty to advance that role and to share the College’s considerable strengths even further,” Olin said.

Olin is the author of numerous scholarly papers in the fields of operator theory and functional analysis, and he has had over 20 years of continuous research funding. He received a bachelor’s degree in mathematics in 1970 from Ottawa University in Kansas and a doctorate in mathematics in 1975 from Indiana University in Bloomington.

Olin will fill the dean’s position currently held by James D. Yarbrough, who is resigning in August to return to the College faculty.