ITHACA, N.Y. -- Cornell University Provost Biddy Martin March 15 announced the appointment of Alison "Sunny" Power as dean of the Graduate School.

Power has been interim dean since July, when Vice Provost Walter I. Cohen stepped down as dean. Power's appointment, which is for three years beginning July 1, 2002, was endorsed March 13 in a vote by the faculty of the Graduate School and was approved by the Cornell Board of Trustees March 15.

"I am delighted that Sunny has agreed to serve as dean of the Graduate School," Martin said. "She is a highly regarded member of our faculty and an excellent administrator, sensitive to the concerns of our graduate students and dedicated to quality research programs. She has been an important and educational contributor to the academic deans council and I look forward to working with her."

As dean of the Graduate School, Power is responsible for promoting the quality of graduate education and the well-being of graduate students, setting academic priorities and allocating resources, representing the graduate faculty in the university and overseeing the administration of the Graduate School.

"I look forward to addressing some of the important issues facing graduate students, including funding, mentorship and career development," Power said. "I am lucky to have the opportunity to work with Cornell's outstanding faculty, students and staff to continue to improve graduate education at Cornell."

Power, a professor in both the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and in the Department of Science and Technology Studies, is a member of the fields of ecology and evolutionary biology, science and technology studies, entomology, international agriculture and rural development, conservation and sustainable development, and the Latin American Studies Program. She joined the Cornell faculty in 1985 and became associate dean of the Graduate School in 1999.Power earned a bachelor's degree in biology from the University of Alaska in 1979 and her doctorate in zoology from the University of Washington in 1985. Her research focuses on agroecology, interactions between agricultural and natural ecosystems, biodiversity in managed ecosystems, the ecology and evolution of plant pathogens, and tropical ecology. Her current research addresses the epidemiology of viruses in plant communities and the ecological risks of genetically engineered crops expressing transgenic virus resistance.

She has served on the U.S. National Committee of the Scientific Committee on Problems in the Environment and the editorial boards of Ecological Applications, a professional journal of the Ecological Society of America (ESA), and the Cornell University Press.

Power has served on the Scientific Advisory Board of the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, the Committee on Sustainable Agriculture and Environment in the Humid Tropics of the National Research Council, the Executive Committee of the Organization for Tropical Studies and the Environmental Protection Agency's Scientific Advisory Panel on Transgenic Bt Crops. Currently, she is a fellow of the ESA's Aldo Leopold Leadership Program, a member of the Oversight Committee of the McKnight Foundation Crop Collaborative Research Program and a member of the Technical Committee of the Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resources Management Collaborative Research Support Program of the United States Agency for International Development.

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