Athens, Ga. – Arthur M. Horne, an emeritus professor and internationally known scholar in the University of Georgia College of Education, will serve as interim dean of the college while a national search is conducted to fill the post permanently.
Arnett C. Mace Jr., senior vice president for academic affairs and provost, announced today that Horne will lead the college on an interim basis after Louis Castenell Jr. steps down as dean on Dec. 31. Castenell is leaving the dean’s post after eight years but will remain on the college faculty.
Horne joined the college’s department of counseling and human development services program in counseling psychology in 1989 and served as department head for four years. In 2002 he was named a Distinguished Research Professor. After retiring in 2006 he was granted emeritus status and is director of the college’s Educational Policy and Evaluation Center and continues to lead a major research project on violence prevention in middle schools.
“Dr. Andy Horne has an outstanding academic record and prior administrative experience,” said Mace. “This expertise, and the very strong support he enjoys from the College of Education due to his scholarship and consensus-building ability, will enable him to effectively serve as the interim dean. I look forward to working with Andy to continue to enhance the quality of programs in the college during his service as interim dean.”
An authority on group counseling and therapy and early intervention for at-risk children, Horne is widely known for his scholarship on troubled families and ways to prevent and deal with bullying and aggressive behavior by males. He coordinated the College of Education’s certificate program in marriage and family therapy for 15 years. He is co-author or co-editor of 11 books and manuals, many dealing with family counseling and therapy and bullying, as well as scores of articles and reports in professional journals.
He has also led and spoken at dozens of conferences and workshops including programs in several other nations.
In an academic career spanning more than 35 years, Horne has received more than $7 million in research funding including major grants from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Arthur Blank Foundation, U.S. Department of Education and National Institute of Mental Health. He continues to lead a research project, funded since 1999 by the CDC, on how schools and families can prevent violence in middle schools.
He is a Fellow of UGA’s Institute for Behavioral Research and a Fellow of several divisions of the American Psychological Association and has received numerous awards for his research and contributions to professional organizations. He received the College of Education’s top awards for both teaching and research and was a UGA Senior Teaching Fellow.
Mace said a search committee will soon be formed to conduct a national search for a permanent dean.