Lederman to lead 14 academic units

Understanding human beings and human behavior is a central theme of contemporary times, says Linda Costigan Lederman, who, on May 15, becomes the dean of the Division of Social Sciences in ASU's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

“That's the importance of social sciences – understanding the individual in relation to others in the context of cultures and societies,” says Lederman, director of the Institute for Social Science Research at ASU and a professor of health communication in the Hugh Downs School of Human Communication.

Lederman came to ASU in January 2006 from Rutgers University. In August, she was selected as the founding director of the Institute for Social Science Research, a position she will continue to hold. Lederman will take the reins for the Division of Social Science from Alan Artibise, who was named executive dean of the college last December. Artibise also is the executive director of the Institute for Social Science Research, a role he will continue.

In her role as dean of the Division of Social Sciences, Lederman will manage 14 academic units, including the School of Geographical Sciences, the School of Global Studies, the Hugh Downs School of Human Communication, the School of Human Evolution and Social Change, the School of Justice and Social Inquiry and the School of Social and Family Dynamics; and the departments of political science and transborder studies. Additionally, the division includes six programs: aerospace studies, military science studies, African and African-American studies, American Indian studies, Asian Pacific-American studies, and women and gender studies.