Jeremy R. Knowles will step down from his post at the helm of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) in order to take time to recover from prostate cancer, two individuals close to University administrators said.

David Pilbeam, currently a senior adviser to the dean of Harvard College, will serve out the remainder of Knowles’ term, which was set to end on June 30, the individuals said.

The University was expected to make the announcement this afternoon.

Knowles announced his illness last week in a letter to the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. He had originally planned to return to University Hall this week.

“I'll be working from home for a week or so, trusting (and believing!) that I shall be fully re-harnessed thereafter,” he wrote in the letter. “As Christopher Robin put on his door for Winnie-the-Pooh to read: ‘Bak Sun’!”

Peter Ellison, former dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
and Pilbeam's colleague in anthropology, said this afternoon that Pilbeam has quitely contributed to the University for decades.

"He has remarkable breadth of experience here in the University," Ellison said. "David is skillful and insightful and patient and very quiet in his style. I think many people may not realize what an important role he has played in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences for quite a long time."

According to Ellison, Pilbeam has worked closely with Knowles since
the British chemist first became dean in 1991.

"They developed a very strong, close working relationship," Ellison said. "He was trouble shooter for Jeremy Knowles and he took on a number of projects behind the scenes."

A preeminent scholar of human and primate evolution, Pilbeam is familiar with the inner workings of the University, Ellison said.

"There will be no learning curve for him. In many ways I'm surprised that his name hasn't surfaced in the search for permanent dean. In other ways I'm not, in that David wouldn't seek out that sort of role."

—Samuel P. Jacobs contributed to the reporting of this story.

—Check thecrimson.com for updates throughout the evening.

FOR MORE INFO:
Beloved Brit to Reprise Role as FAS Dean (May 24, 2006): Derek Bok announces that Jeremy R. Knowles, the chemist who led the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) through the 1990s, will move back into University Hall to serve as the interim dean of FAS.

Faculty Furthers Core's Finale (April 18, 2007): Bok announces that Knowles is absent from the Faculty meeting due to complications from previously unannounced prostate cancer.