Texas A&M dept. head named UF's Health and Human Performance dean

March 24, 2006

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Steve Dorman, chairman of Texas A&M University‘s department of health and kinesiology, has been named dean of the University of Florida‘s College of Health and Human Performance, UF Provost Janie Fouke announced today.

Dorman, 48, will assume his new position effective Aug. 1. He succeeds Jill Varnes, who has served as interim dean since 2003 and will return to full-time teaching. Patrick J. Bird served as dean for 17 years before stepping down in 2003.

“Dr. Dorman is an outstanding addition to the University of Florida. His experience at TAMU, an enormous, comprehensive university, will serve him well here,” Fouke said. “An accomplished faculty member and administrator with a track record of working across disciplinary boundaries, Dr. Dorman’s personal expectations for excellence in all that he does will be welcome here.”

Dorman’s personal research specialty is in health education and spans issues such as obesity, alcohol consumption and interpersonal violence as they relate to personal risk, especially in adolescents and college-age people. He also has published numerous technology briefs in peer-reviewed professional journals about the role technology can play in their research.

“I am honored to be selected to serve as the next dean,” Dorman said. “The fine faculty and researchers of the UF College of Health and Human Performance have an outstanding national reputation. I am looking forward to working with them in their quest for continued excellence and elevated scholarship. It will be great to be in Gator country again.”

Dorman has deep ties to UF. From 1986 to 2000, he was a faculty member in the department of health science education, serving as director of the master of public health program shortly before he left for Texas A&M. His eclectic career also includes stints as a public-school health coordinator.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in biology from Lee College in Cleveland, Tenn., and his master’s degree in community health and his doctorate in health education, both from the University of Tennessee.

His awards include National Health Educator of the Year from the American Association of Health Education.