Dr. Dennis DeTurck
Dennis DeTurck
Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences,
Robert A Fox Leadership Professor and Professor of Mathematics
As dean of the College, Dr. DeTurck has responsibility for undergraduate curricula, programs, and students in all departments and nondepartmental programs in the School of Arts and Sciences. He directs the College Office, together with its staff of advisors, and works with the Dean of SAS on planning and priorities for undergraduate education in the arts and sciences at Penn.
Dr. DeTurck, a professor of mathematics who has authored more than fifty papers on partial differential equations and differential geometry, is managing editor of the American Mathematical Society's "Contemporary Mathematics" book series. He has long been a distinguished and dynamic presence in undergraduate education at Penn. This renown stems in part from his own superb teaching, which has been recognized by a host of honors including the SAS Ira Abrams Award, the University's Lindback Award, and the Mathematical Association of America's Haimo Award for Distinguished Teaching. In 2009, Dr. DeTurck was named the Robert A. Fox Leadership Professor.
Beyond the confines of his own classroom, Dr. DeTurck has been a forceful advocate for curricular innovation in a wide range of contexts. He has led major reforms in introductory calculus, initiated a residence-based mathematics advising program for undergraduates, and has played an active role in several campus efforts to promote the use of technology to enhance instruction. He also established the NSF-funded Access Science program in which faculty, graduate students and undergraduates work with teachers and students to improve mathematics and science teaching in West Philadelphia schools.
Dr. DeTurck, a Penn Ph.D. who joined the faculty in 1982, has served for five years each as Chair and Undergraduate Chair of the Department of Mathematics. He holds secondary appointments in Penn's School of Engineering and Applied Science and Graduate School of Education. He is also the Faculty Master in Riepe College House.
