Parks College Dean Charles Kirkpatrick announced his resignation to Parks students yesterday in an e-mail.

“With mixed emotions, I have decided that next year would be the last year that I would serve as dean,” Kirkpatrick stated. He will continue to serve as dean next year, but will become a faculty member in the Chemistry Department once a new dean has been selected.

Kirkpatrick cited both personal and professional reasons for his resignation.

“It’s hard to get a balance between what needs to be done here and what needs to get done at home,” he said. “It’s a demanding, time-consuming job.”

Kirkpatrick said that he has always viewed the role of dean as a “faculty member who teaches a little less.” On that point, he has continued to teach one class each year. He looks forward to returning to full-time teaching. However, as he will be teaching chemistry, Kirkpatrick will be transferring to the College of Arts & Sciences.

“No decision like that is easy,” Kirkpatrick said. “There are a lot of people here who I really enjoy working with.”

Students speak highly of Kirkpatrick’s commitment to them. Lucas Elmer, Student Government Association Parks College senator, said, “He went above the call of duty all the time.”

Elmer said that Kirkpatrick is the only dean he knows who will sit down and talk with students about problems in class.

Association of Parks College Students President Eric Gehringer said that Kirkpatrick has increased the activities between the dean’s office and the students.

“He’s continually taken an active role in helping student groups,” Gehringer said. “He actually cares what students have to say.”

During his eight-year tenure as dean, Kirkpatrick oversaw the move of Parks College six years ago from across the river in Cahokia, Ill., to McDonnell-Douglas Hall on the northeast side of Saint Louis University’s Frost Campus.

He credits this as one of his biggest accomplishments. Over the years, he has also seen the enrollment of Parks College grow immensely, from 83 freshmen the last year in Cahokia to 220 freshmen this year.

With the new faculty he hired, Kirkpatrick said he tried to emphasize both teaching and research. “I do not believe teaching and research are in conflict,” he said.

Looking at the next few years, Kirkpatrick believes that one of the major challenges facing any new dean is balancing the diversity of academic interests in the varied majors of Parks College.

Another challenge is to continually obtain research grants, making the University more competitive nationally.

He hopes the college can maintain good interactions between faculty and students.

Kirkpatrick will assist Provost Sandra Johnson in the national search for a new dean. He said that over the next year, the University will be able to define what it is looking for in a new dean.

In his e-mail to students, Kirkpatrick said he will ensure student involvement in the search process.

Gehringer, who has been recommended by Parks to serve on the search committee, said the new dean will have to be easy to talk with, experienced in working with a smaller college and have an engineering background with some involvement in the industry.

Elmer noted, “The new dean will have big shoes to fill.”