Bárbara Brizuela, the current dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, will serve as the undergraduate school’s interim dean, as announced by the Office of the Provost on May 7. Brizuela, a professor in Tufts’ Department of Education for 23 years, will continue to serve in her current role while overseeing operations at Tufts’ largest undergraduate school.
This change in leadership, effective July 1, will come as Brizuela’s predecessor, James M. Glaser, steps down from his 10-year tenure. Glaser, moving to California, will serve as the University of Santa Clara’s next executive vice president and provost as announced at the end of last year.
A committee, helmed by Dean of the School of Engineering Kyongbum Lee, is still searching for Glaser’s successor. According to Patrick Collins, executive director of public relations, the final round of candidate interviews will not take place until September. When the permanent appointee takes Brizuela’s place, Collins wrote, is dependent on “variables [the university doesn’t] know yet.”
In 2022, Brizuela became dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences in addition to her role as the school’s dean of academic affairs, which she has filled since 2014. In her current capacity, she oversees the school’s many graduate education programs.
In their email announcing Brizuel’s appointment to the Tufts community, University President Sunil Kumar and Provost and Senior Vice President Caroline Attardo Genco highlighted Brizuela’s qualifications and accomplishments.
“She has led masters and Ph.D. enrollment efforts for Tufts’ largest graduate school,” Kumar and Genco wrote, “spearheaded the development of the school’s mission and value statement, led program development efforts, launched the Future Leaders Fellows program, redesigned the graduate financial aid process, and served on the university-wide Graduate Education Task Force convened by the Provost’s Office in 2022.”
“We thank Bárbara for taking on this role as we continue the search for a new dean. An update on that search will be shared in the coming weeks,” Kumar and Genco wrote. “Kindly join us in welcoming Bárbara as dean ad interim of the School of Arts and Sciences.”
