Waisman director retires

Terrence R. Dolan, professor of neurology and psychology, will retire Friday, May 24, from the University, where he has been director of the Waisman Center for 20 years.

One of only nine centers of its kind in the United States, the Waisman Center encompasses a broad range of research, training, service, and outreach programs related to human development, developmental disabilities, and neurodegenerative diseases.

Under Dolan’s direction, the Waisman Center has become known for significant research accomplishments and substantial growth, according to Graduate School Dean Martin Cadwallader. “His leadership has moved the Waisman Center to the forefront as a leading worldwide research center on human development and developmental disabilities,” says Cadwallader.

Dolan has led the center in increasing the number of extramurally funded research programs from 13 to 70 and the center has moved into several new areas of science, according to acting director Marsha Mailick Seltzer, professor of social work. Among the most notable, says Seltzer, are initiatives in research on gene therapy and stem-cell biology. As part of these efforts, the center recently completed a 70,000 square-foot addition.

Dolan also oversaw broadening of Waisman research programs in the behavioral sciences. In the past decade, the center has raised more than $20 million to develop new facilities and programs, says Seltzer.

In March, Dolan returned from a 14-month leave of absence in Saudi Arabia, where he headed up the development of a new research center on childhood diseases. His future plans include a new position in the private sector, as well as occasional travel to the Saudi Arabia to oversee the continued development of the center.