Alma Harrington Young of Detroit will become interim dean of the College of Urban, Labor and Metropolitan Affairs (CULMA) at Wayne State University on Jan. 1. Currently, she is the Coleman A. Young professor of urban affairs in the college, a position she will continue to hold as she takes on new responsibilities.

Young will succeed Sue Marx Smock, who has headed the college since 1987 and will take a year's administrative leave before returning to teaching and research in CULMA.

Young joined the WSU faculty in January 1997 as the first person to hold the Coleman A. Young chair. The position, which involves teaching and research on urban issues, was endowed by the late mayor of Detroit, who was not related to Alma Young.

Before joining the WSU faculty, Young was professor of urban and public affairs at the University of New Orleans. She also was associate vice-chancellor for academic affairs there and director of the doctoral program in urban studies.

She has a doctorate in political science from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University and a bachelor's degree in government and philosophy from Radcliffe College. She is an expert on the impact of business redevelopment on urban neighborhoods and the effect of welfare reform on families.

Young was the first woman appointed to chair the Board of Commissioners for the Port of New Orleans. She also chaired a statewide children's advocacy agency in the state of Louisiana.

Marilyn Williamson, WSU's interim provost and senior vice president for academic affairs, noted that Young "brings scholarly distinction and wide administrative experience to the position."