Thayer School of Engineering Dean Elsa Garmire will officially announce her resignation to the College today, though she will remain a member of the Thayer School faculty and continue her research at the College.
Garmire, in a telephone interview last night, said that after two years as an administrator, she now knows her "real heart lies in research and teaching."
President of the College James Freedman said Acting Provost James Wright will announce the appointment of an acting dean of the Thayer School today.
"A search committee will then be promoted by the Provost which will start as soon as is practical to look for a new dean," Freedman said.
Freedman said the search for a permanent replacement for Garmire will most likely begin this fall.
Garmire, who was the 11th dean of the Thayer School and its first-ever female dean, has served the College since September 1995.
Garmire's resignation actually was announced in a letter to the Thayer School faculty a few weeks ago, according to Public Affairs writer Nancy Serrell.
The College needed the letter so a decision for an interim dean could be made while there is a search for a new dean, Garmire said.
Before coming to Dartmouth in 1995, Garmire was a well-known researcher and she had been the University of California Center for Laser Studies director since 1984.
.But she thought it was time for a change.
"I thought it would be interesting to do academic administration," she said.
She said she had the opportunity to work with a student on his senior honors thesis and was able to see the tremendous abilities of Dartmouth students.
In addition, she has worked and plans to continue to work with Ph.D. students and Presidential Scholars, she said.
Garmire said her interests lie in how semi-conductors and lasers interact for purposes of processing information in the age of the Internet.
Many different technologies are being used to communicate information, such as cellular systems or satellites, she said.
"The technology has to be developed so information can flow in a seamless way between the interfaces," she said.
She will be working on researching these concepts with her students.
Although Garmire said she prefers teaching and researching, she said she did gain from her experience as dean.
"I absolutely enjoyed being exposed to all different parts of the school and its complex system," she said.
She described the College's system as a "tub on its own bottom" because the Thayer School has its own administration, Career Services, publications and other aspects separate from the undergraduate level.
Stepping down as dean will be an "interesting change," she said.
"The professors give much care to their students and I'm looking forward to being a part of that," Garmire said.
She said she and her husband truly love Hanover and Dartmouth and her resignation was "the right thing to do" for her.
Administrators and faculty said Garmire's unique experiences allowed her to succeed as dean for nearly two years.
"I think she's been a very strong and effective dean and I'm sorry to see her stepping down," Freedman said.
Freedman also mentioned that Garmire is the only member of the Dartmouth faculty who is a part of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, making her a "very great intellectual distinction."
Garmire has earned many other awards, including being named as one of three appointees to the President's Committee on the National Medal of Science in 1996.
MacLean Professor of Engineering Daniel Lynch said Garmire served well as dean, although "it hasn't been a revolutionary period of change."
Lynch said Garmire's role was diverse, with much of the work being outside of faculty relations, but now she will work among the professors, "doing the same thing I do."
