University of Utah Provost Mitzi Montoya announced today that Associate Dean Pearl Sandick has accepted an appointment as interim dean of the College of Science.

Sandick will begin working in this new role on March 15, 2025, and will continue to serve until a new dean is appointed. Montoya will work with the college before the end of the academic year to determine next steps and timing on a search process for a new dean.

Sandick, a professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, has been associate dean for faculty and research in the U’s College of Science since 2022. She came to the U as an assistant professor in 2011 and is a theoretical particle physicist studying physics beyond the Standard Model, including possible explanations for the dark matter in the universe.

She earned a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in 2008 and was a postdoctoral fellow in the Theory Group at the University of Texas at Austin before moving to Utah. She has been recognized for her teaching and mentoring work with a University of Utah Early Career Teaching Award, a University of Utah Distinguished Mentor Award and the Linda K. Amos Award for Distinguished Service to Women. She has also been recognized as a U Presidential Scholar.

“I appreciate Dr. Sandick’s willingness to take on this important role and to lead the College of Science during a period of growth and change for the U,” Montoya said. “She has proven to be an outstanding professor, administrator and mentor at the university, and I look forward to the contributions she will make as interim dean.”

Sandick’s move comes as current College of Science Dean Peter Trapa begins serving March 15 as the inaugural vice provost and senior dean of the Colleges and Schools of Liberal Arts and Sciences (LAS). In that role, he will provide strategic advancement and management of the College of Humanities, College of Science, College of Social and Behavioral Science and the School for Cultural & Social Transformation.

“It is with great confidence that I turn the leadership of the College of Science to Pearl Sandick as interim dean,” Trapa said. “She will extend the trajectory of excellence and history of innovation that defines Science at the U.”

The College of Science promotes the importance of basic and applied science and prepares graduates for impactful careers that will help address future challenges, locally, nationally and globally. The college consists of eight academic units and is home to the Science Research Initiative and the Wilkes Center for Climate Science & Policy.

“I’m honored and humbled by the opportunity to serve as interim dean of the College of Science,” Sandick said. “After nearly 14 years in the college, I look forward to supporting our outstanding faculty, staff and students in this new capacity and at this critical moment, as we work together to advance student success, our academic programs and the frontiers of research and innovation.”