Dr. Brian Primack named dean of UA’s College of Education and Health Professions

Dr. Brian Primack, dean of the Honors College at the University of Pittsburgh, has been named dean of the University of Arkansas College of Education and Health Professions. The hiring is effective July 1, according to a UA news release.

Primack will hold the Henry Hotz Endowed Chair as dean and have a secondary appointment with the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) College of Medicine as a professor in the Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Community Health. He was hired by Jim Coleman, provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs at the UA, on the recommendation of a campus search committee after a national search.

“Dr. Primack’s background in the fields of education and medicine makes him uniquely qualified and a natural fit to lead our College of Education and Health Professions,” Coleman said in a statement. “He has a great vision to expand the college’s role as a major academic resource for the state and the nation in K-12 education, meet the growing demands for health professionals in Arkansas, and expand important research and collaboration in both health and education.”

Michael Miller, who has served as dean of the college and held the Henry Hotz Endowed Chair since April 2016, will continue his work at the UA as a professor of higher education and with the academic programs in public policy and adult and lifelong learning.

Primack is a 1991 graduate of Yale University. He began teaching at the American International School in Niger, West Africa, before moving into higher education at the University of Maryland, where he taught mathematics. He has also served as dean of students for the Exploration Summer Program at Wellesley and a professor of medicine and pediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh.