Nancy Targett named interim president of UD

After three decades working at the University of Delaware, Lewes resident Nancy Targett will temporarily take on the role of interim president July 1.

Targett's appointment was announced March 13 by the University of Delaware Board of Trustees. She replaces the university's 26th president, Patrick T. Harker, who announced March 2 that he will move on to become the new president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.

Targett, a marine chemical ecologist with a doctorate in oceanography from the University of Maine, has served as the dean of UD's College of Earth, Ocean and Environment and the director of the Delaware Sea Grant program since 2005.

“It was a surprise and a very deep honor to be asked,” Targett said. “I've been at UD for 30 years, and I have a very deep commitment to the university. The way I see it is it's my job to work with everybody in the university community, the faculty, students, staff, administration and friends of the university to get us ready for the 27th president. I'm really excited to have the opportunity to do that.”

Targett said she believes strongly in Harker's vision for the university and has been working very closely with him in preparation for her July 1 start date.

“I will choose some very strategic things that I can accomplish to keep the forward momentum and bring the university community together,” she said.

Targett said she will not apply as a candidate for president, and will return to her current roles when the new university president is named.

A 15-member Presidential Search Committee, including university board members, faculty, staff, students, parents and alumni, is expected to begin its work this month, and no timeline has been established to find the university's next president.

The longtime Lewes resident, who is originally from Pittsburgh, serves as the director of First State Marine Wind, the joint venture between UD and Gamesa Technologies Inc. that runs the wind turbine on the school's Lewes campus, is an officer of the Sea Grant Association, and has served on various other marine science organizations and boards. She also has played roles in the state's Climate Vulnerability Taskforce and the Mid-Atlantic Fisheries Management Council.

When Targett steps into her new interim role, College of Earth, Ocean and Environment Deputy Dean Mohsen Bradiey will step up as acting dean in her absence, while Delaware Sea Grant Associate Director Jim Falk serves as the program's interim director.