Addition By Division

It’s been a bumpy road for William C. Kirby since his installation as dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) some 16 months ago. Soon after taking office, Kirby energized Harvard by announcing the first undergraduate curricular review in three decades—but that promising kick-off to his deanship was soon squashed by popular discontent over Kirby’s plan to eliminate shopping period. Despite last semester’s failures, though, the dean’s newest initiative may improve his track record.

Kirby announced during the summer the appointment of four new “divisional” deanships. In office since Sept. 1, the divisional deans oversee broad groupings of academic departments—the humanities, social sciences, physical sciences and life sciences—and are responsible for monitoring hiring, improving research initiatives and enhancing inter-departmental communication, among other things. This intuitive move by Kirby will provide students with better course options and give faculty more opportunities to offer feedback.

Yet not all faculty look upon the new divisional deans with enthusiasm. With the deans comes an additional bureaucratic layer, which has worried many professors who fear the move may drastically reduce their time with, and access to, Kirby. These concerns are certainly valid, but the role of these new deans—to increase communication and enhance academic initiatives—will mostly likely counteract any potential reduction in access.

The divisional deans can impact the academic experience of undergraduates by improving the Faculty’s appointment system. More faculty members will lower class size, provide more professorial contact with students and expand course offerings to enhance both the breadth and depth of courses offered. As Kirby plans to expand the Faculty by 10 percent over the next decade, the new divisional deans can focus on hiring junior faculty—often younger, fresh professors, who regularly offer ground-breaking courses.

Working as deans responsible for a broad grouping of departments, the divisional deans will also focus on hiring across disciplinary lines. Due to space and financial constraints, individual departments often shy away from hiring faculty whose interests straddle two or more distinct fields. Yet it is often those faculty who best serve the University’s diverse academic interests. With broader oversight, the interdisciplinary deans can identify faculty whose strengths complement those of several departments and benefit myriad students.