Jeremy Webster, dean of the Honors Tutorial College, will be leaving Athens in June to become the Dean of Ohio University Zanesville for the 2017-18 academic year.
Webster’s last day serving as dean of HTC will be June 4, and he will start his position in Zanesville on June 5. Cary Frith, associate dean of HTC, will serve as interim dean until the university provost selects a candidate for the permanent position.
Webster said he looks forward to his new position as dean of OU Zanesville. Additionally, he appreciates the opportunity to make a difference in the community and in first-generation college students’ lives.
“It felt like a really great opportunity to give back and to make a larger contribution to Ohio University and what we do as an institution,” Webster said. “I thought about it for a while and thought it would be a great chance.”
Rebecca Bycofski, a junior studying French and math in HTC, said she was surprised when she saw the announcement that Webster would be leaving this year.
“I was just really shocked. I think he has a really big passion for the Honors College at OU and I think it’s great that he will be moving on,” Bycofski said. “But I was a little bit surprised because he does have such a pride for the college.”
Webster has been at Ohio University for about 18 years. He started out in the English Department and served there for 10 years before becoming dean of HTC. The end of this year will be his eighth year in the position.
“Being dean of HTC really relies on a lot of collaboration across campus and working with the other deans, faculty, staff from all of the other colleges,” Webster said. “Really everything that we do is a partnership. I think that will be very similar in Zanesville where ... I’ll have the opportunity to work with people in the community, people across our institution.”
Abigail Roberg, a junior studying business administration, said she has gained a lot of opportunities by being a part of HTC and Dean Webster has helped to facilitate that with all of his students.
“The sense of community does really start at the top with Dean Webster,” Roberg said. “Knowing that he is available to help you out, like, makes sometimes the difficult work … it makes it a lot more feasible.”
Although Roberg and Bycofski will miss Webster, they both spoke positively of Frith.
“I am looking forward to Cary Frith being able to read my thesis project because I have known her for just as long as I have known Dean Webster and I think she is a huge asset to the college,” Roberg said.
Additionally, both Roberg and Bycofski said they do not believe much will change within HTC.
“Cary and Dean Webster have kind of worked together to create the atmosphere that HTC has right now,” Bycofski said. “So, I think that she will do a good job of keeping that going and continuing to build on that.”
