Douthitt named interim dean of human ecology

Robin Douthitt

Robin Douthitt, consumer science professor at UW–Madison, has been named interim dean of the School of Human Ecology.

Douthitt has been on the UW–Madison consumer science faculty since 1986. In 1989 she founded the UW–Madison Women Faculty Mentoring program and continues to serve on its advisory committee.

In its first decade of existence, the program has improved the university’s retention rate for female faculty in all departments and has become a model for other institutions.

Douthitt’s research ranges from child support policy analysis to consumer attitudes toward rBGH dairy products and to methods of assigning value to unpaid labor. Last year, the YWCA named Douthitt one of its Women of Distinction. In February, she became the Vaughn Bascom Professor of Women in Philanthropy.

Douthitt’s appointment follows Hamilton McCubbin’s decision to step down as dean July 1. McCubbin served for nearly 15 years as dean of the school, which is ranked third among similar schools nationwide. He will rejoin the faculty in the UW–Madison Department of Child and Family Studies and the School of Social Work following a year of independent research.

Douthitt will begin her new duties immediately to ensure a smooth transition. “It will be important for me to help set the stage for a successful search for a new dean,” Douthitt says. “I see my role as making a way for the search committeeto select the very best dean possible.”