Primack stepping down, headed to Arkansas

Brian Primack will transition out of his position as Honors College dean to become the dean of the University of Arkansas College of Education and Health Professions this summer.

Starting June 1, Primack will become the school’s Henry Hotz Endowed Chair as dean and will be a professor in the Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Community Health, according to a news release from the University of Arkansas.

In his 20 years with Pitt, he’s been a faculty member of the School of Medicine, dean of the Honors College since 2017, a founding director of the Center for Research on Media, Technology and Health, and assistant vice chancellor for research on health and society in the Schools of Health Sciences.

Pitt spokesman Joe Miksch said in an emailed statement that an interim dean will be appointed in the “coming weeks.”

As dean of the Honors College, Miksch said, Primack “has worked to engage and connect students, faculty and alumni, make mentoring a more comprehensive and compassionate endeavor, and found new ways to reward innovation and intellectual curiosity among students.”

“We appreciate his diligent and inspiring efforts and wish him success as he begins a new professional chapter,” the email read.

In the Arkansas news release, Primack said he was excited to take on his new role.

“I am truly honored and humbled to have the opportunity to serve the College of Education and Health Professions. During my campus visit, it was a delight to meet the students, faculty, staff and administration of the college,” Primack said. “I greatly look forward to working with them all to best serve the educational and health-related needs of the people of Arkansas, the nation and beyond.”

This news comes as Pitt continues its ongoing searches for a new senior vice chancellor of health sciences. The full committee for that search has still to be named.

Donovan Harrell is a writer for the University Times. Reach him at dharrell@pitt.edu or 412-383-9905.