Dr. Michael Forster has been selected as dean for the College of Health at The University of Southern Mississippi.

Forster has served as the college’s interim dean since last April. He was selected following a national search for the position.

Since 1994, Forster’s accomplishments within the College of Health’s School of Social Work have included serving as the school’s director; assisting in the creation of SWORD, a network database for Mississippi youth courts; and providing leadership to improve the operations of the Mississippi Department of Human Service’s Division of Family and Children’s Services.

He is also co-founder of the Family Network Partnership, a community-based direct service organization that includes a free after-school program for Hattiesburg students, and is a founding member of the Mississippi Social Work Education Consortium.