Tufts has begun the search for a new dean of the School of Arts and Sciences to succeed Dean James M. Glaser. Glaser, who has been the dean of the School of Arts and Sciences since 2014 and a Tufts faculty member since 1991, will assume the position of executive vice president and provost at Santa Clara University in July.
Shortly after Glaser announced his departure in December 2023, the Office of the Provost began arrangements for the hiring of a new dean. While the office is currently searching for an individual to permanently fill the position, it recently appointed Bárbara Brizuela, current dean of the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, as the interim dean. Brizuela will assume the position on July 1.
Caroline Genco, provost and senior vice president, explained the process of hiring a permanent dean, which is estimated to take around five months.
“We have engaged Isaacson, Miller, a leading executive recruitment firm specializing in higher education, to facilitate the search and recruit a diverse pool of candidates,” Genco wrote in an email to the Daily.
A search committee primarily composed of A&S faculty has been working with Isaacson, Miller to create the job position and conduct the recruitment process. The committee is responsible for vetting candidates, conducting first-round interviews and recommending candidates for further consideration.
Kyongbum Lee, dean of the School of Engineering, serves as the chair of this committee.
“I think Dean Glaser and I probably have the closest relationship of all the deans because the two of us are largely responsible for the undergraduate experience at Tufts,” Lee said. “So he and I need to work together all the time. … Of all the deans at the university, I probably had the closest insight into what the dean of Arts and Sciences does on a day-to-day basis.”
After the first stage of recruitment, the committee will invite the second-round candidates back to campus to be interviewed by faculty, senior leadership, student leaders and other stakeholders, who will report their feedback back to Genco.
“I will then confer with President Kumar and we will select a final candidate, who will require the approval of the Board of Trustees,” Genco wrote.
The committee aims to find a strong leader who, as Genco wrote, will “follow in Glaser’s footsteps.” The dean of the School of Arts of Sciences is in charge of supporting the operations of the entire school through overseeing faculty governance, curriculum development and facilities design, among other responsibilities.
“I lead the school — all 26 departments and roughly 10 programs — [and] report up to a structure that we have in place here. So the management of the departments, curriculum [and] faculty is our responsibility to oversee,” Glaser said.
Glaser explained the challenges that a future dean may face in the role.
“It’s a high-pressure job. There are a lot of things that come your way that are unpleasant or difficult or emotional, and you have to have the temperment to deal with them without letting them take you down,” he said.
Lee expressed that he would like to see a dean who is “collegial, collaborative and transparent.”
“[Glaser] was a very successful dean of Arts and Sciences,” Lee said. “I think that’s something that most people would agree with. So I’d say some of the qualities we’re looking for are the ones that Dean Glaser embodied. One is that he deeply cares about the student experience.”
The search for the permanent dean will continue over the summer.
“I think it’s important that people understand that this is a wonderful place. I get the privilege of being part of the leadership for a period of time, and then I will pass it onto others,” Glaser said.
