Jeffery Kelly, Jamie Williamson Assume New Leadership Roles

Professor Jeffery Kelly, formerly dean of the Scripps Research Kellogg School of Science and Technology, has become chair of the Board of the Skaggs Institute for Research, and Professor Jamie Williamson, formerly associate dean of the Kellogg School, has succeeded Kelly as dean.

"Please join me in congratulating Jeff and Jamie on their new roles at Scripps Research," said Scripps Research President Richard A. Lerner. "We all thank Jeff for his leadership and his lasting contributions to the graduate program, and we look forward to continuing to work with him in his new role as the chair of the Board of the Skaggs Institute. I am also delighted to welcome Jamie to his new position as dean. I know the Kellogg School will continue to evolve and prosper under his direction."

In Kelly's position as the chair of the Board of the Skaggs Institute for Research, one of the Skaggs family's major mechanisms for its philanthropy, Kelly will be involved in the many facets of the Skaggs Institute's prominent presence at Scripps Research. He will also work with the Skaggs family to further develop the Skaggs Oxford Scholarship Program. Professor Julius Rebek will continue as the director of the Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology.

Kelly, Lita Annenberg Hazen Professor of Chemistry and a member of the Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology, was appointed as the second dean of the Scripps Research graduate program in 2000, following the death of the program's founding dean, Bernie Gilula. Over the eight years he led the program, Kelly presided over a period of tremendous growth, with the number of students in the program growing by 50 percent. The curriculum also underwent significant expansion, and revisions allowed more flexibility in coursework for both chemistry and biology students.

In addition to helping establish the graduate program as part of the Scripps Florida campus, Kelly was instrumental in establishing the Scripps Research/University of California, San Diego (UCSD) Medical Scientist Training Program, the Scripps Research/UCSD Skaggs School of Pharmacy joint degree program, and the prestigious Skaggs Oxford Scholarship Program. He also oversaw the establishment of the graduate programs into the Kellogg School for Science and Technology. During his tenure, the school has been consistently recognized by U.S. News & World Report as among the top graduate programs in chemistry and biology in the nation.

Williamson, professor in the Department of Molecular Biology, who came to Scripps Research in 1998 and has served as associate dean since 2001, will draw on his seven years of experience as an integral part of the Kellogg School administration and a decade as a member of the Scripps Research faculty in providing leadership for the Kellogg School going forward. Williamson is also a member of the Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology.

For more information on Kelly and Williamson see their faculty web pages.

Send comments to: mikaono[at]scripps.edu