Villanova Arts and Sciences dean resigns

The dean of Villanova University's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences is resigning.

A university spokesman confirmed that Dean Jean Ann Linney is stepping down, and said that a message about the resignation was sent to the campus community on Thursday.

In the message, the Rev. Peter Donohue, Villanova's president, said Linney resigned "due to personal reasons" and "will retire, effective June 2, 2014."

Linney became dean in 2011. The email didn't provide additional details about the reasons for the resignation.

"I am grateful for the three years of leadership that Dean Linney has provided the College, its faculty and staff, and especially its students," Donohue wrote.

Adele Lindenmeyr, the college of arts and science's dean of graduate studies, will lead the college -- the largest of Villanova's schools -- on an interim basis.

The email said a reception for Linney would be held Thursday on the campus.

Linney came to Villanova from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where she had been the interim dean for the College of Arts and Sciences.

As a scholar, her work had focused on community psychology, prevention science and mental health.