Thibaudeau begins associate dean research role at MSU
Contact: Karyn Brown
STARKVILLE, Miss.āHaving served as interim since 2014, a longtime Mississippi State faculty member and administrator officially is being named associate dean for research in the College of Arts and Sciences.
Giselle Thibaudeau holds a masterās degree in zoology from the university, along with a doctorate in developmental biology from the University of Kansas. She returned to Ļć½¶Ö±²„in 1994 as a faculty member in the Department of Biological Sciences after completing a post-doctoral fellowship at Princeton University.
While campus administrative duties have involved associate directorship of the Shackouls Honors College and director of the Undergraduate Research Program, Thibaudeau is best known for her leadership since 2005 of MSUās Institute for Imaging and Analytical Technologies, also known as I2AT. For more, see .
In making the announcement, interim college dean Rick Travis said Thibaudeauās permanent duties to begin June 1 will enable the land-grant universityās largest academic unit to maintain administrative stability.
āThibaudeau has a proven record of working with the Office of Research and Economic Development, other associate deans for research, research centers around campus and faculty within arts and sciences and other colleges,ā he said.Ā
Travis said the college has seen a substantial increase in extramural funding during Thibaudeauās time as interim associate dean. āAlthough Giselle will credit the faculty and Dr. Carly Cummings, the collegeās assistant to the dean for research, the credit, in part, must go to her,ā he emphasized.
David Shaw is MSUās vice president for research and economic development. As the individual overseeing all aspects of the 138-year-old institutionās research compliance, he also expressed appreciation for Thibaudeauās talents and achievements.
āGiselle has done a wonderful job as interim associate dean for research, especially given her responsibilities with the Institute for Imaging and Analytical Technologies,ā Shaw said. āThis move will allow her to devote full-time efforts in promoting the research capabilities of the College of Arts and Sciences, which is where she has demonstrated true talent and passion.ā
Thibaudeau said she was āhumbledā when asked to serve as interim associate dean by previous dean Gregory Dunaway and āhonored when Interim Dean Travis asked me to accept the permanent position.
āAs interim,ā she continued, āI learned a tremendous amount about the faculty, staff and students, and the breadth and depth of research activity across the college. It has a fabulous administrative team and talented faculty and staff, all which position Arts and Sciences well to achieve unprecedented research growth and success.ā
Thibaudeau said she ācould not be more excited and proudā to continue serving the college and university communities.
The College of Arts and Sciences includes more than 5,000 students, 300 full-time faculty members, nine doctoral programs and 24 academic majors offered in 14 departments. It also is home to the most diverse units for research and scholarly activities, including natural and physical sciences, social and behavioral sciences, and the humanities.
Natural and physical science research projects have been supported over the decades by the National Institute of Justice, U.S. Department of Defense, National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation.
Additionally, scholarly output in the humanities have helped place Ļć½¶Ö±²„in the National Science Foundationās top 50. The NSF also ranked Ļć½¶Ö±²„among the top 25 for research expenditures in the social sciences.Ā For more on MSUās College of Arts and Sciences, visit .
Ļć½¶Ö±²„is Mississippiās leading university, available online at .