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“We are pleased to welcome Dr. Tappenden as the College of ������ο��Ƶ’s next leader,” said Michael L. Good, MD, CEO of ������ο��Ƶ of Utah ������ο��Ƶ and senior vice president for health sciences. “She is an extremely accomplished leader, educator, and scientist who is highly respected nationally and internationally. Her background, accomplishments, and leadership skills make her a perfect fit for the ������ο��Ƶ of Utah and U of U ������ο��Ƶ, and we know she will help the College of ������ο��Ƶ continue to achieve excellence in our missions and national prominence for our work.”

As dean, Tappenden will provide leadership and overall direction to the educational, research, and clinical initiatives of the College of ������ο��Ƶ, which is one of the largest at the ������ο��Ƶ of Utah. She will provide strategic vision and operational leadership to all aspects of the academic and scholarly programs, creating an environment and community that support the college’s faculty, staff, and students, with a focus on ensuring equity, increasing inclusion, and driving diversity. She will support the university’s research mission by advancing the scholarly activities of faculty and work collaboratively with the President and Provost, Vice Presidents, Deans, and other U of U leaders to achieve strategic goals.

Tappenden received her PhD in nutrition and metabolism from the ������ο��Ƶ of Alberta and served as a post-doctoral fellow for the Department of Integrative Biology, Physiology & Pharmacology at the ������ο��Ƶ of Texas ������ο��Ƶ Science Center at Houston. Before joining the ������ο��Ƶ of Illinois Chicago, she served as a provost fellow and endowed professor in the Division of Nutritional Sciences at the ������ο��Ƶ of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

”I am honored to join the College of ������ο��Ƶ at the ������ο��Ƶ of Utah,” Tappenden said. “I look forward to learning from and working with faculty, staff, and students as we collaborate with our community partners to innovate education, advance knowledge, address disparities, and redefine the human healthspan.”

When Tappenden begins her appointment on July 1, she will succeed R. Scott Ward, PhD, who has served as interim dean since July 2022, when he stepped in for David H. Perrin, PhD, who retired in June 2022 after eight years as the college’s dean.

“Dr. Ward spent many years in leadership positions before taking on the interim dean role, and that experience paid off,” Good said. “We are grateful for his long-term commitment to the college and thank him for his outstanding work in keeping the college on an upward trajectory during this time of leadership transitions.”