Iowa State’s College of Family and Consumer Sciences has named Carol B. Meeks as the new dean. She will take her position effective Aug. 21.

Diane Draper, associate dean for research and graduate education of the college, has been working as an interim dean since July 1. Beverly Crabtree, former dean, stepped down from the position on June 30 to return as a faculty member at the college.

Meeks is a professor and chair of the department of housing and consumer sciences at the University of Georgia in Athens. She joined the faculty of the University of Georgia in 1985 after spending some years teaching at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y.

Her own formal education came from Ohio State University, where she received a B.S. in education, M.S. in management and housing and a Ph.D. in consumer economics and housing.

Meeks has held various positions on a national level, such as president of the American Association of Housing Educators and chair of the National Association of Home Builders Research Centers University Consortium.

She also spent five years as a supervisory economist and housing section head for the economic development division of the economic research service unit of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

“One of the most impressive facets of Dr. Meeks’ resume is her national visibility,” said Provost John Kozak. “Iowa State gains this visibility by virtue of her accepting this position.”

Other national positions Meeks has held include serving as a member for both the board of directors of the American Council on Consumer Interests and the National Institute of Building Science. She belongs to the board of directors of the Society of Government Economists and is active on the HUD National Manufactured Home Advisory Council.

Meeks also served an important role abroad as a research fellow for the National Institute for Consumer Research in Oslo, Norway.

“She encourages the students and faculty to have an international perspective,” Kozak said.

Besides her membership to many organizations, Meeks is also an author. She wrote her own textbook, titled “Housing,” concerning her work with manufactured housing regulation.

“Meeks has had extraordinary success with members of under-represented groups in her program,” Kozak said.

During her years at the University of Georgia, three African American faculty members have been added to the department, he said. The number of African American students in the program raised dramatically from about 9 percent to nearly 27 percent.

Meeks was presented the Leader Award from the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences in 1996.

“Everyone in this field knows who Dr. Meeks is,” Kozak said. “We are proud to have her come to Iowa State because she knows how to get things done.”