FAS Dean of Humanities search

Friday, October 6, 2023

[Summary: This message announces the members of the advisory committee to identify candidates for the role of FAS Dean of Humanities; explains the timetable and process; and describes the role’s responsibilties.]

To: FAS Faculty
Cc: FAS Staff; FAS Dean’s Office; FAS Steering; President’s Office; Provost’s Office

Dear colleagues in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences,

As you know from the announcement on September 7, 2023, Kathryn Lofton will return to full-time teaching and reserach on July 1, 2024, at the conclusion of her term as FAS Dean of Humanities; we are therefore seeking a new FAS Dean of Humanities to begin in the 2024-25 academic year.

Below is some information about the search advisory committee and the search process, and a brief description of the role.

Committee membership

To inform the selection of the new FAS Dean of Humanities, I have appointed an advisory committee including the faculty and staff below. This list was composed in consultation with the FAS/SEAS Faculty Senate and other FAS faculty leaders.

  • Joanne Meyerowitz, Committee Chair; Arthur Unobskey Professor of History and American Studies
  • Morgane Cadieu, Associate Professor of French
  • Hussein Fancy, Associate Professor of History
  • Jonathan Kramnick, Maynard Mack Professor of English
  • Marsha Marcum, Lead Building Services Coordinator, Humanities Quadrangle (staff advisory member)
  • Priyamvada Natarajan, Joseph S. and Sophia S. Fruton Professor of Astronomy and Professor of Physics; Chair of the Department of Astronomy (outside member)
  • Kathryn Slanski, Senior Lecturer in Humanities and in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations
  • Michael Veal, Henry L. and Lucy G. Moses Professor of Music and Professor of African American Studies

The committee will be assisted in its work by the following staff members:

  • Carolyn Kyrtopoulos, Staff: Senior Administrative Assistant, Office of the Dean of the Faculty or Arts and Sciences
  • John Mangan, Staff: Senior Associate Dean and Dean of Faculty Affairs, Faculty of Arts and Sciences

I have asked this committee to consider as potential candidates for the role of FAS Dean of Humanities current full professors in the FAS and those who will be joining the FAS as full professors as the result of recent searches, and to provide me with a list of promising candidates, and a sense of their strengths and challenges, by the end of November.

If you are interested in being considered for this position, I encourage you to reach out to Joanne Meyerowitz to let her know.

Roles and responsibilities

The FAS Dean of Humanities oversees the day-to-day well-being and mid- and long-term planning of the 20+ departments and programs in the humanities division of the FAS. They oversee faculty hiring plans, hiring processes, offers, recruitments, and retentions, as well as faculty lifecycle issues including promotion, tenure, and retirement for these FAS departments. They chair the humanities advisory committee (HAC), and with the Dean of the FAS, lead the humanities tenure appointments and promotions committee (HTAC).

The FAS Dean of Humanities sits on the major FAS committees, including FAS Steering (which oversees matters of FAS policy) and the Faculty Resource Committee (which oversees allocation of FAS faculty searches). Together with the FAS Deans of Social Science and Science, they meet regularly with the Dean of the FAS to coordinate FAS-wide goals, strategies, policies, and practices.

A more detailed description of the role and its responsibilties can be found in the attached document.

I look forward to working with all of you to identify appropriate candidates for this important role.

Best,

Tamar

Tamar Szabó Gendler
Dean, Faculty of Arts and Sciences
Vincent J. Scully Professor of Philosophy
Professor of Psychology and Cognitive Science