The Dean’s Annual Letter

5 September 2024

Dear Colleagues,

Welcome to the start of a new academic year! I hope your summer was restorative and that you are looking forward to the year ahead. I am excited to welcome forty new faculty members this fall, including twelve new assistant and associate professors, two new Bolin predoctoral fellows, two Mellon postdocs, and a variety of visitors, distinguished visitors, and artists-in-residence. You can read more about this impressive group here. We look forward to welcoming them at the first faculty meeting.

You can also read about those faculty who have been promoted and those who have received named chairs on the Faculty Highlights page on the Dean of Faculty website. We congratulate them all on their impressive accomplishments.

I call your attention to the faculty who are serving in leadership positions at the college this year, including those who are chairing faculty committees. I am grateful to all of them for their hard work and commitment.

Many academic units will be conducting one or more tenure-line searches this year, including in: English, Music, Theatre, Anthropology, Economics, Environmental Studies, History, Political Science, Astronomy, Biology, Computer Science, Math, Psychology, and Statistics. In addition, many units are participating in the Bolin fellowship search. We continue to partner with OIDEI to support all searches and provide resources to help recruit, develop, and retain a diverse faculty.

Finally, I would like to introduce you to a new member of my office. Peony Fhagen began her position as Associate Dean of the Faculty in June. She is replacing John Gerry who will be retiring at the end of September. She is leading our search for a new Faculty Finance Officer, who will help manage funding in the DoF area. The rest of the DoF staff, including those in the Grants Office, are all continuing in their previous roles. All of us are here to support you in your work, so please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions or concerns.

I look forward to seeing everyone at the first faculty meeting next week. Until then, my warmest wishes as we start the semester!

Lara