Larry Forthun has been chosen as the interim chair of the UF/IFAS Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences, effective Jan. 1.

Current Chair Tracy Irani has decided to step into a faculty role. Since inheriting a department in flux a decade ago, she has led its revitalization.

Forthun has been a consistent supporter in that effort, as graduate coordinator and for the last four years as associate chair. It was Forthun who conceived of the prevention science emphasis in the proposal to establish the department’s first Ph.D. program.

“Dr. Forthun is the right leader to build on the department’s success of the last decade because he was such an integral part of it,” said Rob Gilbert, UF’s interim senior vice president for agriculture and natural resources. “His vision to pursue opportunities in prevention science, individual and family health, mental health and resilience, and community engagement and sustainability will likely take the department to even greater heights.”

After years of unsuccessful efforts by their predecessors, Forthun and Irani launched the program in 2017. Since then, Tracy has hired a number of research faculty to help build the Ph.D. program, including, just this past year, the first faculty member in artificial intelligence.

In addition to administrative experience, Forthun brings achievement in all three mission areas to his role. He was hired 15 years ago to provide intergenerational Extension programming. He has secured millions of dollars in grants, most recently for research on the prevention of substance abuse among adolescents. And he is the 2023 CALS Graduate Teacher/Adviser of the Year.

0