Dr. Mark J. Zoran, a professor of biology and a neuroscientist at Texas A&M University, has been appointed dean of the Texas A&M College of Arts and Sciences, effective Jan. 1, 2024.
Zoran, a well-respected and accomplished faculty member, researcher and leader who has spent two decades in college administration, earned selection as the first permanent dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, which was created through the merger of three legacy colleges — Geosciences, Liberal Arts and Science —and officially launched Sept. 1, 2022. Since August 2023, he has served as interim dean for the college and, prior to that, as executive associate dean since June 2022. He previously had held the same position since 2018 in Texas A&M's former College of Science, where he had served since 2003 as an associate dean for graduate studies and subsequently for both graduate studies and faculty affairs. From 2017-18, Zoran also was acting associate provost for graduate and professional studies.
I am excited to accept the responsibility of giving back to the institution by championing the scholarly efforts of our faculty and the teaching and learning of our students in the College of Arts and Sciences.
Zoran’s appointment was announced Tuesday (Dec. 19) by Texas A&M Provost and Executive Vice President Dr. Alan Sams.
“Dean Zoran is a distinguished leader and educator and brings a vision for the future and preeminence of the College of Arts and Sciences that will expand and strengthen its reputation for excellence in student success, research impact and as the vital academic foundation at Texas A&M,” Sams said. “I look forward to working with Dean Zoran and the remarkable achievements in store under his leadership.”
Zoran joined the Texas A&M faculty in 1991 as a member of the Department of Biology, where he researches the development and regeneration of brain connections and how the biological clock controls those synapses, brain functions and behaviors. His research is supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation — funding that has enabled him to make a significant impact on dozens of graduate and undergraduate researchers affiliated with his cellular and developmental neurobiology-based laboratory during the past 30 years.
Equally accomplished in the classroom, Zoran has taught an undergraduate physiology course as well as graduate courses in neuroscience. He also collaborates in a learning community through the Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning focused on STEM teaching professional development for graduate students who are interested in academic careers. In 2008, he was recognized with a Texas A&M Association of Former Students Distinguished Achievement Award in Teaching at the college level.
“I truly believe that our combined impacts across the liberal arts, humanities and sciences have never been more important to the civic and cultural education, as well as the future career success, of our students,” Zoran said. “I am grateful to President Welsh and Provost Sams for the opportunity to lead the new College of Arts and Sciences at Texas A&M as we develop our shared vision for the college and university, including advancing our faculty, supporting our staff and enhancing our students’ success.”
A native of DePue, Illinois, Zoran earned a master’s degree in biological sciences from Illinois State University in 1981 and a doctorate in zoology/neurobiology from Iowa State University in 1987. He completed postdoctoral research at Iowa State prior to coming to Texas A&M, where he also is an affiliated faculty member with the Center for Biological Clocks Research and the Texas A&M Institute for Neuroscience.
“I and my wife, the other Dr. Zoran, have spent 32 years in Aggieland," Zoran said. "Texas A&M University, our student body and the local community has grown tremendously while being central parts of our joys and successes during those years. A&M is our home. I am excited to accept the responsibility of giving back to the institution by championing the scholarly efforts of our faculty and the teaching and learning of our students in the College of Arts and Sciences.”
Learn more about Zoran and his teaching, research and professional service accomplishments or the College of Arts and Sciences Leadership Team.