Starting her official term as the new dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, Bárbara Brizuela met with the Daily on Friday to reflect on her career at Tufts and share her plans for the future.
Editor’s note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
The Tufts Daily (TD): What are some goals you hope to accomplish as the new Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences?
Bárbara Brizuela (BB): I will be launching a strategic planning process that I am very excited about. It will involve active participation from faculty, staff and students. Some of the areas that I’m excited about looking at are faculty hiring to make sure that our student to faculty ratio remains where we want it to be, that we’re continuing to hire in high-need areas and that we do some cluster hires — which we’ve been doing in the past few years around health, artificial intelligence, climate, some interdisciplinary areas and other areas for strategic planning.
Our Dean of Research, Ayanna Thomas, has already launched a focus on research and scholarship to explore where we want to be in the next few years in terms of our research.
TD: How will your experience as the dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences shape your performance as the new dean of the School of Arts and Sciences?
BB: When I think about my professional experience, being the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences dean is only the last three years. I would say it’s really the culmination of so many things, from being a classroom teacher — I was a preschool, kindergarten, elementary, middle school teacher, a faculty member in the Department of Education. This is my 24th year in the department. I was department chair, I was director of Graduate Studies. This is my 11th year in the dean’s office.
I have also done a lot of work with faculty, both as department chair and then I was academic dean and head of Faculty Affairs. I know all the faculty when I’m walking around campus, I know the staff. It’s not just about this most recent role as dean of the graduate school, but I’ve also been affiliated with Tufts for 30 years since I arrived as a master’s student myself.
TD: What do you think are some of the biggest obstacles facing the School of Arts and Sciences?
BB: I think the obstacles are not unique to Tufts. As you know, there’s a big threat to higher education. There are a lot of questions among many people about the value of higher education. I think we need to make sure that we are aware and responsive to those concerns and that we are nimble in terms of the changes to our offerings, our curriculum and our support for students. Then there’s a whole other set of circumstances which are outside of our control — global and domestic challenges, political issues and I think in general, a very divisive landscape.
TD: How do you believe your leadership will differ from previous dean leadership?
BB: In terms of our personalities, there is a continuity between [former] Dean [of the School of Arts and Sciences James] Glaser and myself. But in terms of my positionality, I am a woman. I am a Latina woman. My disciplinary expertise is very, very different. I always do research in teams, and so that set of experiences will necessarily frame my outlook in terms of how to approach some of our biggest challenges moving forward in very different ways. I’m multilingual, and these are all things that are very important to me in terms of my identity and that I tend to lean on as I am making decisions.
TD: Do you have any plans for how you will continue to build strong bridges among the schools at Tufts?
BB: I’ve collaborated very closely with the School of Engineering. In fact, I have mentored many Ph.D. students in engineering education over the years, and I sit on the advisory board of the Center for Engineering Education and Outreach. I have many very close colleagues in the School of Engineering, and I have partnered with [the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life] over the years in appointments and programming, and also with the Friedman School of Nutrition. I plan to continue doing that and building connections even beyond those.
TD: As a Tufts graduate, what is some advice you have for students currently pursuing their studies?
BB: Be open to the unexpected. I think that Tufts students are particularly well positioned for that. I see Tufts students as being so curious and love exploring, love learning new things. If you had told me 30 years ago that I would eventually be the dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, I would have never imagined that.
The other piece is to really lean into your mentors and those professors that you can trust and who are your allies.
TD: What’s one thing you believe every Tufts student should know about you?
BB: I think the most important thing for you to know is that I have a big life outside of Tufts. If you pay attention, you might see me biking around campus because I get around everywhere on my bike. I have a big flashy helmet. I’m a mom. We speak only Spanish at home. I love yoga. I have a very cute dog. I can’t think of just one thing.
