New FAS Administrative Dean Starts Job

The Faculty of Arts and Sciences' new administrative dean, Nancy L. Maull, started work Monday and will serve as a link between academia and administration, according to Dean of the Faculty Jeremy R. Knowles.

Such a role comes naturally to her, Maull said. She said she is particularly excited about arriving at Harvard in a time of change and renewal under a new dean and president.

"One difference from my time at Harvard before is that there's really a lot going on," she said. "I get the impression of a place that is thoughtfully...moving forward."

Job Requirements

Maull, who was named in July, was deputy provost of the University of Chicago and was senior tutor of Cabot House in the early 1980s. Her job involves working with the FAS' facilities, finance and development and she will be intimately involved in the upcoming $2 billion University capital campaign.

The new dean spent her first day of work in a series of introductions and re-introductions and periodic efforts to unpack the stacks of books in her new office, she said.

The unpacking continues on the home front as well, Maull said, where her two children, aged 13 and 16, are already settled in.

Reasons for Returning

Maull decided to return to Harvard from the high-level post in Chicago primarily because she "was ready for a change" and loves the University. The deputy provost is the third highest-ranking academic official at the University of Chicago.

Maull has a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago and has taught in philosophy and history of science and was Chicago's dean of students. Besides her years at South House, Maull has served as assistant to the dean of FAS at Harvard and an assistant professor of philosophy at Yale.