Kevin Kregel, University of Iowa acting executive vice president and provost, has appointed Keith Mueller interim dean of the College of Public Health, effective April 1. Current dean Sue Curry is stepping into the role of UI interim executive vice president and provost.

Mueller is Gerhard Hartman Professor and head of the Department of Health Management and Policy (HMP) in the College of Public Health, which he joined in 2010. Under his guidance, HMP has developed a distinguished reputation for innovative health policy research, and its graduate program in health care administration is among the most highly ranked in the nation.

Mueller’s leadership experience also includes directing the Rural Policy Research Institute (RUPRI) Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis and serving as president of the National Rural Health Association. He also served as both an associate dean and interim dean in the College of Public Health at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

“I’m grateful to Professor Mueller for taking on this important responsibility,” Kregel says. “He has excellent leadership experience, and I know he will do an outstanding job keeping the college moving forward while the university works to recruit a permanent dean.”

Mueller will serve as interim dean of the College of Public Health until a permanent dean is identified through a nationwide search, a process that is expected to begin later this spring.