Former Cloverdale resident appointed founding dean at IUPUI

Friday, May 15, 2009
Luzar

Dr. E. Jane Luzar has been appointed as the founding dean of the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) Honors College, subject to approval by the Board of Trustees, announced Chancellor Charles R. Bantz.

Her term as dean starts July 1, 2009.

"As the founding dean of Honors College, Jane Luzar will build on IUPUI's success in recruiting talented students," Bantz said. "By expanding our Honors Program, Dean Luzar will launch an honors College that recruits even more talented students, facilitates greater student faculty-interaction, offers the best possible urban research experience, and stimulates the greatest possible success of our students."

Originally from Cloverdale, where she grew up on a family farm, Luzar joins IUPUI from the University of Florida (UF), where she served as Associate Dean of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS) 1999-2006.

"To be selected as the founding Dean of the IUPUI Honors College is a great professional honor and responsibility," Luzar said. "Creation of the Honors College recognizes the high ability students IUPUI now attracts and is further recognition of the quality IUPUI faculty who teach these exceptional students."

At UF, Luzar is a Professor of Natural Resource Economics in the Department of Food and Resource Economics.

At IUPUI, she will also hold the title of Professor in the Department of Economics, School of Liberal Arts.

At the University of Florida, Luzar has responsibility for student services and programs for over 4,000 graduate and undergraduate students in CALS. She also administered the college's distance education program and off-campus academic programs.

She administered and regularly taught in the CALS Upper Division Honors Program and participated in development of UF's First Year Florida freshman experience program.

Through her leadership, CALS expanded service learning and leadership education opportunities for students, as well as its international opportunities.

She was recognized in 2003 as the UF recipient of the Mortson Wolfson Faculty Award for outstanding service to students at the University of Florida.

"I am delighted that Jane Luzar will be joining us," said Uday Sukhatme, Executive Vice Chancellor and Dean of the Faculties at IUPUI. "She has roots in Indiana and was the clear leading choice in the search process. Her broad background, experience, and dynamic style will be essential ingredients in getting the IUPUI Honors College off to a fast start."

Luzar received her B.A. in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Oregon. After completing three years of service in the Peace Corps in Liberia, West Africa, she received her M.S. in Natural Resource Economics from the University of Kentucky. She received her Ph.D. in Natural Resource Economics from Virginia Polytechnic Institute.

While serving in the Peace Corps, Luzar grew to recognize the connections between wise use of natural resources and economic opportunity in developing countries.

"This guided my choice of graduate specialization in my M.S. and Ph.D. degree programs," she said.

Before moving to the University of Florida, She was a professor at Louisiana State University (LSU) for 12 years, specializing in teaching and research in the area of Environmental and Natural Resource Policy.

At LSU Luzar was recognized as the Outstanding Teacher in the College of Agriculture and received the LSU Amoco Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching.

She also has been recognized by the American Agricultural Economics Association as their Distinguished Undergraduate Teacher.

Luzar was selected by the University of Florida to serve a one year, full time assignment as a Provost Fellow in the Office of the Provost and Senior Vice-President in 2006 and to participate in the American Council of Education (ACE) Fellows Program from June 2006 - June 2007.

In her spare time, she has enjoyed cycling on the Gainesville-Hawthorne Trail, kayaking the spring fed rivers of North Central Florida, gardening, and macro nature photography.

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