Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences Dean Alan Jette announced that he will step down from his position at the end of the academic year after serving as dean since 1996, and university officials said they are working to find a replacement.
Jette said he decided to step down in September after speaking with Chancellor John Silber, Provost Dennis Berkey and President-elect Daniel Goldin.
He announced his resignation to the Sargent faculty on Sept. 26 and then informed the college’s students by email.
‘I am not retiring,’ Jette said in an email to The Daily Free Press. ‘My first choice is to remain at Boston University to focus on my research begun in the [Center for Rehabilitation Effectiveness] and to get more involved in teaching.
‘I hope to expand my research collaborations with faculty on this campus as well as on the Medical Campus,’ he continued.
Although Jette said he has enjoyed being Sargent’s dean, he said he feels torn between his administrative duties and his desire to research and instruct.
‘As my responsibilities as dean and as a researcher have grown over the past few years, I have struggled with doing justice to both and with responsibilities to my family,’ he said. ‘I came to the difficult decision that I needed to make a choice between these two wonderful professional roles I have held at BU. I have chosen to focus on my research and on continuing to work with students and faculty who wish to pursue careers in research.’
Berkey said he supports Jette’s request to remain at BU as a professor and researcher.
‘His research program is so important to the university and to advances in public health, gerontology, and rehabilitation science that we want to support his decision to continue developing all of his research avenues,’ Berkey said in an email. ‘He will head a new institute that will reach across both campuses and advance the university’s prominence in these key fields.’
Jette said he wants to work more closely with the Center for Rehabilitation Effectiveness which conducted $2.4 million in funded research last year because of the important role the center plays in the scientific community.
‘Our work focuses on evaluating the effectiveness of health services provided to children and adults with major, potentially disabling diseases and conditions,’ he said. ‘I also hope to expand my research in the area of understanding and preventing late-life disability to help older adults age more successfully.’
Along with his own research, Jette said he would continue to work with Sargent faculty and students.
‘I wish to be engaged in teaching within my areas of expertise and to mentor doctoral students, post doctoral fellows and junior faculty to help them develop research expertise needed to pursue careers in this important area of applied science,’ he said.
The rules of the Faculty Handbook state that the provost must select a committee of no more than 10 members to find a replacement for a new dean.
The committee to find a replacement Sargent dean will include five faculty members three from Sargent and two from other schools three other members and two students appointed by the provost.
Although no committee members have been announced, Faculty Council Chair Herbert Voigt said the council is in the process of nominating members.
‘We want it to be a balanced committee,’ he said. ‘This is a huge university and a number of faculty members could serve this committee well. We know what Sargent College is about and we are looking for qualified people.’
Berkey, who will lead the search for Jette’s replacement, said he will look for candidates from both within and beyond BU’s faculty.
CRE Director Stephen Haley, who co-founded the center with Jette in 1997, called the dean an ‘exceptional leader’ and praised him for his work at Sargent over the past seven years.
‘He is a valued senior colleague and mentor and I hope to work with him even more closely as he steps down from his college administrative responsibilities to focus on his research interests,’ Haley said in an email. ‘It is my hope that Dean Jette will choose to remain at Boston University and integrate all of his research programs within the CRE.’
Berkey said Jette played a crucial role in helping Sargent become the prestigious school it is today.
‘He has fostered a strong sense of collegiality and teamwork among the key administrators and faculty,’ he said. ‘And he has led the development of new programs of interest to the very high quality students that Sargent attracts.’
Jette received his bachelor’s degree in physical therapy from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1973, a master’s in health gerontology from the University of Michigan in 1975 and a doctorate in public health behavior from the University of Michigan in 1979.
Before becoming dean of Sargent, Jette taught for more than 15 years at the Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health Professions and BU School of Public Health.
He has received more than 25 grants and fellowships for research from a number of organizations, including the National Institutes of Health.