Former Wellesley College Associate Dean Joanne Berger-Sweeney is, starting this fall, taking up the position of dean of arts and sciences at Tufts, the university announced in July.
Berger-Sweeney — a Wellesley College faculty member since 1991 — takes over from Robert Sternberg , who announced in December his intention not to seek a second term once his five-year tenure ended on June 30.
Provost and Senior Vice President Jamshed Bharucha convened a search committee, which selected Berger-Sweeney as the final candidate. The new dean is also an accomplished professor of neuroscience, specializing in the areas of learning and memory and neurological disorders.
Berger-Sweeney assumed her duties as dean at the end of August and the Daily sat down with her in her office to discuss her new appointment.
Matt Repka: What's the transition been like this summer?
Joanne Berger-Sweeney: …Two days after it was announced publicly that I would be taking this position, I had to think almost immediately about filling new positions [due to resignations]. The transition was about one day. [Laughs]
MR: As we go into the academic year, what are your expectations? Are you looking forward to it?
JBS: I'm absolutely looking forward to it. I'm so excited to be here at Tufts, and what I'm most looking forward to is getting to know the people here on campus. That's something that I couldn't possibly know, regardless of how many institutions I've been a part of before. Tufts, and Tufts people, are going to be new and interesting and exciting. And there are lots of them. [Laughs].
MR: …What attracted you to make the move from Wellesley to Tufts?
JBS: ...I think that I've discovered that life cycles happen about every six to seven years, at least for academicians … I had been in the associate dean position for six years at Wellesley and it just felt that it was time for something new and something different … When I got a call [from a recruiting firm] about Tufts, I had to stop and think about it because I'd been at Wellesley for 19 years, and one doesn't easily leave an institution I'd been associated with for that long.
Probably some of the things that appealed to me about Tufts were the quality of the education … and its incredible reputation for providing really a high-quality experience for undergraduates. In addition, it has graduate programs, and I thought expanding into that new area and being a part of a university that had many different graduate schools and programs was an exciting addition.
MR: What are the challenges of a larger school like Tufts as compared to Wellesley?
JBS: One of the biggest challenges is to get to know the people well and understand the problems. With more people, there are … more challenges. It's getting to understand the institution when there are multiple levels. A smaller institution can be a lot flatter, with less hierarchy … The biggest challenge is trying to understand it well enough to make good, strategic decisions.
MR: Is there something that you think is important that people know about you?
JBS: …[First] is my commitment to excellence in teaching and research and the idea that there is no excellence without diversity. Sometimes people try to pit excellence against diversity and I think that they are so intertwined. Teaching and research should absolutely be intertwined … How do you integrate these and make sure that they're synergistic? And I feel the same way about diversity. You cannot have excellence without diversity.
A second big idea is that we're trying to create the best training for the next generation of global citizens, both at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The third issue, or big idea, is accessibility and affordability of education.
MR: In his announcement, [the provost] made a specific reference to your "commitment to critical issues such as need-blind admissions and increased financial aid." What are your goals on these issues?
JBS: It's hard to give specific goals because I don't feel I understand the institution well enough [yet], but I know that [University President Lawrence Bacow] stated that need-blind admissions was one of his primary goals … Fundamentally, I think that college education is very, very expensive — the rate of increase of university tuitions has outpaced inflation … It's hard to imagine that we can continue on that trajectory ... We have to understand as institutions how to do what we do better, in a more cost-effective fashion…
MR: Your predecessor, Robert Sternberg, had a background in psychology, and yours is in neuroscience. How does that background in the sciences affect your perspective — what does that bring to the job?
JBS: ...I think that coming from a scientific background, I'm used to, and I like seeing, data. I really like to see the data that might influence [decisions] … I like taking all of these things and then trying to integrate them and come up with a big picture. In some ways, my background as a scientist brings an analysis of problems that's data-based.
MR: In a broader sense, how do you view your role at the university? How does that affect what you hope to accomplish?
JBS: I think to make good decisions, it's important to hear a number of viewpoints and to make sure that communication in this office is open and two-way … I want to make sure that I'm stopping, listening carefully to what people have to say and making sure that communications are as open and decisions as transparent as possible.
MR: Is that level of transparency still possible or easy in a larger school environment?
JBS: Easy may be different from doable. It may be more difficult but we can hold that as a goal, to be as transparent as possible given situations.
MR: What is your favorite color and why?
JBS: I love blue — the office is blue, I'm wearing blue today. I think blue is kind of a calming color … There's something about blue that's perhaps a bit calming that can help people take a breath.
MR: Is there anything that you think it would be helpful for people to know?
JBS: I do hope to get out and know the different constituencies on campus, so people within the school will be hearing about various opportunities to come meet me, and I'm going to try and go out to events. One of my big goals this year is to get to know Tufts people a lot better … particularly, students should feel welcome if they see me walking on the Quad, to stop and say hello.
