Dean's Office
Under the leadership of the Dean, this office strives to meet the needs of individual departments and programs; promotes excellence across Arts & Sciences as a whole; and represents the priorities of Arts & Sciences to the larger university community and to such external constituencies as parents, alumni, and grant-funding agencies.
Gene Tracy, Chancellor Professor of Physics, began his tenure as Interim Dean on July 1, 2011.
The Dean's Office has four deans responsible for day-to-day management of the graduate and undergraduate programs. These deans also serve as the primary administrative liaisons ("contact" deans) between the Dean's Office and assigned departments and programs.
- Organizational Chart [pdf]
This year Arts & Sciences is carrying out the first review of the undergraduate curriculum in almost twenty years. According to Interim Dean Tracy, "One goal of this review will be to look for ways to sharpen our focus on what makes a William & Mary education distinctive, and to build on that solid foundation. We aim to provide an outstanding education for all our students, while offering opportunities for them to excel across the entire spectrum of our majors."
A hallmark of our curriculum is the unique blend of research and academically rigorous teaching throughout Arts & Sciences. For example, a recent study by the National Science Foundation showed that we are one of the top fifty producers of future Ph.D.s in the sciences (including the social sciences), both in total numbers and per capita. Only three state schools make the top fifty per capita, and we are the only one from Virginia. We could tell a similar story in the arts and humanities.
"The model at William & Mary is that the faculty are teacher/scholars. They are fully committed and passionate. Our teachers are doers," Tracy said.
"I like to think of the programs and research activities here as forming an ecological landscape with lots of different models for programs, large and small, traditional and non-traditional, with lots of cross-connections and points of entry for the student. The fact that our faculty are creative researchers, scholars, and artists brings extra value to the seminar room and to hallway discussions. It also provides for meaningful opportunities for students to get involved in their own research, under the guidance of a practicing expert."
The Dean also helps to coordinate and support interdisciplinary programs, where collaboration across traditional lines has the potential to yield new approaches, and new ways of thinking. Fields change over time, and they adapt as new discoveries are made, or new technologies become available. Tracy notes that: "Our faculty and students are innovative, and inventive. It's important to support such intellectual risk-taking. If you want to lead, you have to be willing to try new things."
A key part of the Dean's role takes place off campus, connecting with external constituencies, for example, by looking for ways our alumni can continue to play an active role in supporting the mission of Arts & Sciences. We are also actively seeking support from foundations for new initiatives, as well as looking for ways to enhance our already significant federal support for research.
