Last week, Kennesaw State President Dr. Pamela Whitten and Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Kathy Schwaig appointed a new dean of the College of Science and Mathematics, while the dean of the WellStar College of Health and Human Services will be leaving KSU.
Dr. Kojo Mensa-Wilmot was announced as CSM dean Thursday, Feb. 27, and is set to begin his new role Saturday, Aug. 1, according to KSU News.
“This is an exciting time for KSU and the College of Science and Mathematics,” Mensa-Wilmot said. “As dean, one of my goals will be to expand opportunities for faculty, staff and students, focusing on interdisciplinary approaches that enable us to find new solutions to the challenges facing our global communities.”
Mensa-Wilmot’s duty as dean is to expand the CSM and encourage its students, faculty and staff to grow in their respective roles.
Mensa-Wilmot comes to KSU from the University of Georgia, where he is currently a professor and department head of the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Cellular Biology, according to the UGA Department of Cellular Biology website.
In addition to advising the Minority Premedical Students Association and the Scholars for Diversity in STEM at UGA, he is also currently the Chemical Biology Group’s academic leader, according to KSU News.
Mensa-Wilmot is a world-renowned expert on the biology of “Trypanosoma brucei,” the parasite that causes African sleeping sickness, according to the African Academy of Sciences.
Mensa-Wilmot has his bachelor’s degree in science from the University of Ghana while earning his Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular biology from Johns Hopkins University’s School of Public Health.
Dean Dr. Mark Tillman of the CHHS will be leaving the college beginning this summer for Jacksonville University in Jacksonville, Florida, according to The Wave, JU’s news magazine.
Tillman was named the new Dean of the Brooks Rehabilitation College of Healthcare Sciences at JU and is set to begin his tenure Wednesday, July 1.
Schwaig said that there will be no interim dean for the CHHS, as “the plan is to have a new permanent dean in place when Dean Tillman leaves.”
Tillman was appointed dean of the CHHS in 2016, replacing interim dean Monica Nandan, according to a KSU News article.
Before becoming dean of the CHHS, Tillman was dean of the College of Health and Human Services at Troy University. Before working at Troy, Tillman worked at Stetson University and the University of Florida in various faculty and administrative positions.
Tillman earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering sciences, a master’s degree in engineering mechanics and a Ph.D. in health and human performance with a specialization in biomechanics all from the University of Florida.
KSU Assistant Vice President of Strategic Communication Tammy Demel said that no candidates for the dean of CHHS have been identified yet.
