Oklahoma State University announced today that it has named Dr. Keith Garbutt the inaugural Dean of the OSU Honors College. Garbutt’s appointment is subject to approval by the OSU/A&M Board of Regents at its regular meeting Friday in Muskogee.
Garbutt is currently Dean of the Honors College and a full professor in biology at West Virginia University.
“We are pleased to name Keith Garbutt as the dean of our nationally respected Honors College,” said OSU President Burns Hargis. “Dr. Garbutt has an impressive record of building an honors program for students and we look forward to him leading OSU to even greater levels of success.”
Garbutt replaces Robert Spurrier as head of OSU’s Honor College, which has more than 1,200 active participants, including more than 530 freshmen. Spurrier is retiring after 42 years at OSU, including 26 years directing the honors program. “We appreciate all that Bob Spurrier has done to build our Honors College and wish him all the best,” said Hargis.
Garbutt was appointed director of the honors program at West Virginia in 2000 and under his guidance the program gained Honors College status in 2006. Today the college supports nearly 1,800 students and had an entering class of nearly 600 this school year.
Garbutt received both his B.Sc. (Hons.) and Ph.D. in Botany from the University of Wales, UK. He did postdoctoral work at the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana and Harvard University before moving to West Virginia University in 1987 as an assistant professor.
Shortly after receiving tenure in 1993, Dr. Garbutt became Chair of the Department of Biology, a position he held until 2000. In 2000, his work in innovation in undergraduate education led to his being named the Eberly Family Distinguished Professor for Outstanding Teaching, a chair he still holds.
As a biologist Garbutt’s work focuses mainly on population biology, eco-physiology and genetics of plants. Since becoming a full-time administrator his scholarly concerns have moved to issues of education and honors administration.
The mission of the OSU Honors College is to provide an enhanced and supportive learning environment for outstanding undergraduate students. Graduating with the Honors College Degree is the highest academic distinction awarded to OSU undergraduates.
