One of Adam Leibovich’s goals since become dean of the Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences and College of General Studies last year has been to “create more leadership roles for faculty members at all ranks.”

To do this, he has created several new assistant dean and dean’s fellow positions, which were advertised in the spring and have now been filled.

“I’m starting my second year as dean with some big goals for the Dietrich School and College of General Studies,” Leibovich said. “Improving retention and graduation rates. Expanding experiential learning opportunities. Supporting faculty at all stages of their careers.

“I’m excited about what our current leadership team has accomplished so far. The new assistant deans and Dean’s Fellow will enable us to do more and be more responsive, while providing more leadership opportunities for faculty members — including teaching faculty — throughout the school. The perspectives and ideas they bring will enrich our discussions and inform our decisions.”

The new assistant deans and Dean’s Fellow, and their responsibilities, are:

Dean's Fellow for Experiential Learning: Abdesalam Soudi, teaching associate professor, Department of Linguistics.

• Facilitate communication about existing experiential learning efforts and internship programs for Pitt undergraduates

• Collaborate with relevant stakeholders to enhance and improve resources for experiential development opportunities

• Create opportunities for faculty and students to explore new learning modalities within and beyond the classroom

• Develop new projects that increase student access to both internship opportunities and new modes of applied learning and study

• Create a school-based framework and guidelines for future development of internship and experiential learning opportunities

Assistant Dean for Recruiting and Belonging, Graduate Studies: Rosemary Capo, professor, Department of Geology and Environmental Science

• Develop and oversee mentor training, in collaboration with programs and related academic support units.

• Leads annual assessment process

• Promote and oversee equitable and inclusive admissions practices, such as reviewing holistic admissions rubrics, recruitment material

• Organize DEI and targeted recruiting efforts, including Hot Metal Bridge

• Work with master’s degree programs to increase enrollment, providing advice and acting as liaison to Office of Provost, and other school- and University-wide units

• Partner with departments and other schools to develop interdisciplinary master’s degree programs

• Review and consult on department climate, curriculum, training

• Advise departments about structure of course offerings, new curriculum models, etc.

• Review new programs

Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs and Academic Integrity, Graduate Studies: Marc Coutanche, associate professor, Department of Psychology, and research scientist in the Learning Research and Development Center, with secondary appointments in the Department of Neuroscience and Intelligent Systems Program

• Approval of dissertation committees

• Statute extensions, other exceptions from ordinary procedures or degree requirements

• Appeals, such as dismissal from programs

• Oversee selection of competitive fellowships

• Investigate academic integrity violations

• Adviser to Graduate Student Organization

• Review and consult on department climate, curriculum, training

• Advise departments about structure of course offerings, new curriculum models, etc.

• Review new programs

Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Studies, Academic Program Development: Andrew Lotz, teaching professor, Department of Political Science

• Enhance communication about resources and processes relevant to undergraduate interdisciplinary programming

• Foster interdisciplinary dialogue across departments and programs in Dietrich, CGS, and with other undergraduate schools at Pitt

• Facilitate development of and provide advice on potential collaborations between Dietrich and CGS departments and programs and non-Dietrich schools at the University of Pittsburgh

• Assist chairs and program directors, and directors of undergraduate studies in academic departments to develop interdisciplinary curricula across departments and programs in Dietrich and CGS

• Propose policies that facilitate new and existing interdisciplinary curricula across Dietrich, CGS, and other Pitt undergraduate schools

• Lead efforts and initiatives related to assessment of student learning

Assistant Deans for Undergraduate Studies: Erica McGreevy, associate teaching professor, Department of Biological Sciences, and Tim Tseng, lab instructor, Department of Chemistry

• Meet with students to review appeals of academic matters and other exceptions from ordinary procedures or degree requirements, including academic suspension/dismissal and general education; document these interactions and outcomes

• Monitor and communicate with students who have been reinstated from academic suspension and/or dismissal; document these interactions and outcomes

• Advise interdisciplinary studies/degree completion students; document these interactions and outcomes

• Connect students with appropriate resources and support

• Collaborate with undergraduate studies senior leadership on initiatives designed to enhance the student experience, improve student retention, and increase degree completion rates across the Dietrich School and CGS

• Advise departments and programs on academic-related matters, such as structure of course offerings, pre-requisites, assessment of student learning, etc. 

• Work on special or ongoing projects at the request of the associate dean

Assistant Dean for Faculty Affairs, Appointment Stream Faculty: Eugene Wagner,  teaching professor, Department of Chemistry

• Develop and host workshops and events for appointment-stream faculty from across departments and programs

• Advise chairs and directors on mentoring structures for appointment-stream faculty

• Advocate for appointment-stream faculty in the dean’s office by suggesting programming, making policy recommendations, etc.

• Respond to queries about and from appointment-stream faculty as directed from associate deans

• Assess and suggest improvements in communication between the dean’s office and appointment-stream faculty

• Help develop materials for the annual orientation for newly hired faculty

• Revise and maintain appointment-stream faculty resource webpage