UW News

January 8, 2013

David Eaton selected as dean of Graduate School

News and Information

David L. Eaton, associate vice provost for research and professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Washington, has been selected as dean of the Graduate School, effective March 15, UW President Michael K. Young and Provost Ana Mari Cauce announced today. The appointment is subject to approval by the Board of Regents.

David Eaton“Throughout his career at the UW, David Eaton has proven himself to be a gifted educator, a consummate scientist and an excellent administrator,” said Young. “Robust programs in graduate education are key to the future of higher education, discovery and innovation, as well as to our economic future. We couldn’t have a better suited person to lead graduate education than Dave Eaton.”

Eaton is a professor in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences and also with the Public Health Genetics Program. He has directed the Center for Ecogenetics and Environmental Health since 1995. He has been an associate vice provost since 2006.

Eaton holds a bachelor’s degree in pre-medicine from Montana State University and a doctorate in pharmacology from the University of Kansas Medical Center. He joined the UW faculty in 1979 as an assistant professor and was promoted to associate professor in 1986 and to professor in 1992. He was director of the toxicology program in environmental health from 1986 to 1991.

He served as associate chair of the environmental health department from 1991 to 1993 and then as associate dean for research of the School of Public Health from 1999 to 2005. He was associate director from 2003 to 2007 of the Cancer Center Research Consortium created by the UW, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and Children’s Hospital and Medical Center.

Eaton is a fellow of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences as well as a national associate of the academy. He was elected a fellow of the Washington Academy of Sciences in 2011. He has served on numerous national scientific advisory boards and panels, as well as in the state of Washington and in the community. His extensive bibliography includes more than 150 research publications, books and book chapters. He continues to teach graduate-level courses, as well as serving on dissertation and reading committees for doctoral students in environmental health, epidemiology, pharmaceutics, medicinal chemistry and pharmacology.

His annual salary will be $253,000.