Columbia College is pleased to announce that Chemistry Professor James J. Valentini has been appointed Interim Dean of the College and Vice President for Undergraduate Education.

Professor Valentini has been a member of the Columbia University Faculty since 1991, and is a longtime supporter of Columbia College. He served as chairman of the Chemistry Department from 2005 until 2008, and was director of the department's undergraduate studies program for several years. He also served for many years as an active member of the University Senate and on the Presidential Advisory Committee on Diversity Initiatives, and was chair of the Arts and Sciences Academic Review Committee and the College Committee on Science Instruction, and a member of the Committee on the Core and the College Committee on Instruction. He has served as a faculty representative to the Alumni Association Board, and has worked with many other groups on curriculum matters, undergraduate affairs, faculty governance, and tenure.

A decorated scholar, Professor Valentini was selected by his peers to be a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a Fellow of the American Physical Society for his research involving chemical reaction dynamics. 

Columbia University President Lee C. Bollinger announced Professor Valentini's appointment on Friday.  In an email to the Columbia community, he wrote that Professor Valentini's "two decades at Columbia have been marked by a love of teaching undergraduates and dedication to supporting their intellectual journey at the College."