Valerie Ashby

Valerie Ashby, former chair of the Chemistry department at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is the Dean of Trinity College of Arts and Sciences.

Ashby, who received undergraduate and doctoral degrees in chemistry at UNC, joined the faculty in Chapel Hill in 2003 after eight years at Iowa State University. She has a distinguished professorship at UNC, where her work has focused on synthetic polymers that have biomedical and drug delivery uses. She holds eight patents.

Ashby won three teaching awards at UNC and rose to be chairwoman of the chemistry department in 2012. She is a North Carolina native who was raised in Clayton.

“Valerie Ashby is a distinguished professor of chemistry who has shown extraordinary aptitude for academic leadership,” Brodhead said. “Warm, thoughtful and a creative problem solver, she has high respect for inquiry and teaching across the span of the Arts & Sciences, and she will represent Duke’s academic vision to students, faculty and outside audiences in a compelling fashion. I am delighted to welcome her to Duke.”