Boren names interim dean for OU Honors College

NORMAN — University of Oklahoma President David Boren has named award-winning OU educator Douglas Gaffin to be interim dean of the Honors College, succeeding David Ray, whose retirement takes effect in December.

Boren made the announcement Tuesday during a meeting of the OU Board of Regents at Cameron University in Lawton.

"The entire university family has deep appreciation for Dean David Ray, who has provided outstanding leadership for the Honors College for a decade," Boren said. "We are fortunate that Dr. Gaffin has agreed to succeed him."

Boren said Gaffin shares Ray's devotion to students and has experience at the Honors College as one of the first Presidential Fellows. "Doug Gaffin has a welldeserved reputation as one of the best teachers at the university," he said.

Gaffin joined the OU faculty in 1995 and currently serves as David Ross Boyd Professor of biology in the College of Arts and Sciences. He has taught an introductory zoology course at OU for 20 years to more than 20,000 students. His research focuses on understanding the special sensory and navigational abilities of scorpions and insects.

His wife, Marielle Hoefnagels, is an associate professor in the department of microbiology and plant biology. They were married in OU’s Jacobson Hall and soon after moved into Couch Hall as Faculty-in-Residence. Gaffin earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of California at Berkeley and his Ph.D. from Oregon State University.