MEDIA CONTACT: Charles R. Loebbaka at (847) 491-4887 or at c-loebbaka@northwestern.edu

February 6, 2002

Linzer Named Dean of Weinberg College

EVANSTON, Ill. --- Daniel Linzer, associate dean of Northwestern University's Judd A. and Marjorie Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, has been named dean of the school, effective July 1, 2002, Northwestern University President Henry S. Bienen and Provost Lawrence B. Dumas announced today (Feb. 6).

Linzer, 47, will succeed Eric J. Sundquist, who has been dean since July 1997. Sundquist is stepping down to return to the UCLA College of Letters and Science as the UCLA Foundation Professor of Literature. Before coming to Northwestern, Sundquist served as chair of the English department at UCLA.

"We are delighted that Dan Linzer has accepted our invitation to serve as dean," Dumas said. "His achievements as a teacher and scholar and his administrative experience prepare him well to lead the Weinberg College. As associate dean, and as an active University citizen, Linzer has gained a deep sense of the various issues facing the College. We look forward to the extension of his creative leadership across the spectrum of the arts and sciences."

Linzer has been associate dean of Weinberg since 1998, with responsibility for a number of departmental and interdisciplinary programs in the mathematical sciences, the physical and life sciences, and the social sciences. He first came to Northwestern in 1984 as an assistant professor. Since 1997 he has been a professor of biochemistry, molecular biology and cell biology.

"I am honored to have been selected to lead the College," Linzer said. "Weinberg is at the heart of Northwestern University's academic enterprise and plays a central role in educating students throughout the University. This is a wonderful opportunity and an exciting challenge."

"We had an extremely strong group of candidates for the deanship, but Dan's many accomplishments and skills, together with his knowledge of Northwestern and his understanding of the unique mission of Weinberg College, made him the best person for this position," Dumas said.

At Northwestern Linzer has done pioneering research on the molecular basis of hormone action. A recognized researcher and scholar, Linzer conducts research on the hormonal control of reproduction, cell differentiation in the fetus and mother, and growth. His research involves the identification of specific hormones and proteins, the determination of their physiological effects, and the identification of the processes by which they have such effect. Among his most significant findings are advances in understanding how placental hormones, and potentially tumors, regulate the growth of blood vessels and the production of blood cells.

His research has been supported by the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation and the American Cancer Society.

Linzer served as the Soretta and Henry Shapiro Research Professor in Molecular Biology at Northwestern. He also has served in significant roles at Northwestern in the Center for Reproductive Science, the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University and the Center for Biotechnology.

Linzer has received the March of Dimes Basil O’Conner Award, the Searle Scholar Award and the American Cancer Society Faculty Research Award.

Prior to joining Northwestern, Linzer was a postdoctoral fellow in molecular biology and genetics at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.

Linzer received a bachelor’s degree in molecular biophysics and biochemistry from Yale University in 1976 and a PhD in biochemical sciences from Princeton University in 1980. He lives in Evanston with his wife, Jennifer Brooks Linzer, and a daughter, Nora Brooks Linzer.

Dumas said, "We are grateful to the search committee, chaired by Professor Kelly Mayo, that presented President Bienen and me with an extremely strong list of nominees for the position. And we are grateful to Eric Sundquist for his splendid leadership of the College during the past five years. Dan is fortunate to be able to build on the strong foundation left by Eric."

Founded in 1851, Northwestern University is a private research and teaching university with an enrollment of approximately 7,500 full-time undergraduate students and approximately 7,000 full-time graduate and professional students on campuses in Evanston and Chicago.