Noting that Ballou Hall is often referred to as a "black hole" of paperwork, President Larry Bacow said on Monday he plans to reduce the number of University deanships while giving existing deans more power.
Tufts' administration is configured unlike that of any other major university, Bacow said at Monday's Arts, Sciences, and Engineering faculty meeting. He did not offer any specific plan for filling current vacancies, but began to outline how he sees Tufts' administration changing.
"I want fewer deans, but more powerful deans," Bacow said, adding that he would like to see more power be appropriated to department heads.
He also spoke of lightening the administrative demands placed on professors so that they can focus should be on teaching rather than office work.
Four months after three high-level administrators resigned, two Tufts deanships have been temporarily reassigned. Administrators have not publicized plans to find permanent replacements for the positions, and, in light of the president's comments Monday, eliminating the positions remains a possibility.
Susan Ernst, dean of Natural and Social Sciences, has taken over as dean of Arts and Sciences on an interim basis for Leila Fawaz.
Dean of Engineering Ioannis Miaoulis is the interim dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS), replacing Rob Hollister.
Ernst said that Bacow's role is crucial in the decision-making process for changes in the administration's structure. "He has talked to many people about their views on this and he will be the person who makes the final decision," she said.
Administrators have been tight-lipped in talking about possibly eliminating the positions. According to Provost Sol Gittleman, the decision "depends on what the configuration of the administration is going to look like, and that it might not remain exactly as it has been."
Gittleman left open the possibility of maintaining the positions but changing the corresponding responsibilities.
Neither Fawaz nor Hollister has left the University. Both were deans for five years and are now devoting more time to scholarship, teaching, and other projects.
Fawaz is working on the newly-created Fares Center for Eastern Mediterranean Studies and is collaborating with a Harvard University colleague on the development of a workshop focused on World War II. Fawaz will resume teaching in the fall of 2002 under a joint appointment as a history professor at Tufts and a professor of diplomacy at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.
Hollister now works full time as Dean of the University College of Citizenship and Public Service (UCCPS). His primary responsibilities there are to lead the Faculty Steering Committee, manage the National Advisory Committee, and strengthen UCCPS fundraising efforts.
"I think that President Bacow is taking a very positive step in reviewing the overall academic administration of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering," Hollister said following Monday's meeting.
Hollister said he does not feel that the current administrative structure provides sufficient support for graduate programs, and envisions that a reevaluation will address this weakness.
"Our new president and other administrators are strong advocates of the vital and integral role of the GSAS at Tufts, so I'm confident that there will be a next Dean of GSAS and that he or she will be situated effectively within the new administrative structure," he said.
Fawaz declined to comment on the future of her former position. In a May interview with Tuftalk, she spoke of the multidimensional quality to a dean's work. She said that a person in such a position must operate "on all levels-with faculty, development, other schools, and, of course, with students and staff."
