Nov 21, 2007 - Claremont, Calif. - Robert Cave has been named vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty at Harvey Mudd College, it was announced by President Maria Klawe earlier this month.

The appointment of Cave, a professor of chemistry at HMC since 1988 and most recently associate dean for academic affairs, was approved by the board of trustees at its meeting in early November.

"I am thrilled about Bob Cave's appointment," Klawe said. "I know he will do an outstanding job as dean of the faculty and of leading the development of the academic components in our strategic vision. He has overwhelming support from all parts of the HMC community, and he is a joy to work with. I cannot imagine a better choice for the HMC dean of the faculty."

"I feel privileged and proud to have been asked to serve as dean of faculty at Harvey Mudd College," Cave said. "The faculty is an extraordinary group of creative, bright and energetic people who are committed to educating a remarkable group of students. It is an exciting time to be a part of the college as we look forward to fulfilling the strategic vision articulated in the past year in collaboration with President Klawe. My hope is that I can serve as a good listener and use my experience of the past 19 years at the college to help articulate and bring about the HMC community's vision for what the college should accomplish in the future."

Cave earned his B.S. in chemical physics (with high honors) at Michigan State University and his Ph.D. in chemistry at California Institute of Technology. He came to Harvey Mudd College in 1988 and in addition to his teaching duties in the Department of Chemistry, Cave served as associate dean for academic affairs and director of the Study Abroad Program from 2003 to 2006. From 1979 to 1982, he was a National Science Foundation Predoctoral Fellow and from 1993 to 1998 was the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar at Harvey Mudd College. He is a member of the American Chemical Society, American Physical Society and Project Kaleidoscope Faculty 21.

Cave's research interests are in electronic structure theory: the development of methods for the theoretical treatment of the electronic coupling element in electron transfer reactions and treatment of electron correlation in atoms and molecules, and ab initio studies of electronically excited states of molecules.