Hannah Stewart-Gambino Will Step Down as Dean of the College, Become Full-Time Faculty Member

Hannah Stewart-Gambino, dean of the College since fall 2007, has decided to step down from her administrative position and become a full-time member of the faculty with a joint appointment in government & law and international affairs, effective Dec. 31.

Hannah Stewart-Gambino

“Thanks to Hannah’s leadership we have stronger academic support services through the ATTIC [Academic Tutoring and Training Information Center], an office she helped to develop, and more robust support for study abroad through the establishment of the Office of International and Off-Campus Study,” said Wendy Hill, provost and dean of the faculty, in an announcement to faculty and staff today.

“Hannah has been a key player in advancing initiatives related to global education, the effective use of technology and data, and the use of strategic planning tools and approaches. I am particularly grateful for her significant contributions to the work undertaken to revise the Common Course of Study and to develop a more thoughtful and purposeful advising program for first and second year students,” Hill said.

“Hannah’s leadership was crucial to the work of the Laf360 initiative, and I thank her for her contributions to the IDEAL Center and the Center for Community Engagement as well as to initiatives aimed at infusing diversity in the curriculum,” Hill continued. “She also was instrumental in programming and managing the move of the Dean of the College Office from Markle Hall to its wonderful new home in Scott Hall.”

Stewart-Gambino holds Ph.D. and master of arts degrees in comparative politics and political theory from Duke University, where her subfield was Latin American politics, and participated in the Harvard Management Development Program. She earned a bachelor of arts degree with majors in politics and religion at Converse College.

The full text of Hill’s message is below:

Dear Colleagues,

I write to announce that Dean of the College Hannah Stewart-Gambino has decided to step down from her administrative position and become a full-time member of the faculty effective December 31, 2013. With a joint appointment in Government and Law and International Affairs, she looks forward to working with her departmental and program colleagues to develop courses consistent with her broad background in comparative politics, development studies, gender studies, and Latin American politics and religion.  The College has benefited greatly from the expertise Hannah has brought to this role since assuming it in 2007, and I am confident that she will bring equal enthusiasm to re-focusing on her teaching and scholarship.

As Dean of the College, Hannah has worked energetically on behalf of the academic division. Thanks to Hannah’s leadership we have stronger academic support services through the ATTIC, an office she helped to develop, and more robust support for study abroad through the establishment of the Office of International and Off-Campus Study. Hannah has been a key player in advancing initiatives related to global education, the effective use of technology and data, and the use of strategic planning tools and approaches. I am particularly grateful for her significant contributions to the work undertaken to revise the Common Course of Study and to develop a more thoughtful and purposeful advising program for first and second year students. Hannah’s leadership was crucial to the work of the Laf360 initiative, and I thank her for her contributions to the IDEAL Center and the Center for Community Engagement as well as to initiatives aimed at infusing diversity in the curriculum. She also was instrumental in programming and managing the move of the Dean of the College Office from Markle Hall to its wonderful new home in Scott Hall.

Hannah’s decision gives us the opportunity to think about the functions in the Dean of the College role in light of the important discussions about academic support, advising, and program capacity through the work of the Presidential Task Forces. Rather than trying to fill the Dean of the College position mid-year, I have asked some administrators to assume additional responsibilities as we, temporarily, re-allocate the responsibilities of the position. The offices associated with academic support and advising (e.g. The ATTIC, prestigious fellowships) along with the support staff in Scott Hall, will report to the Dean of Advising, Erica D’Agostino. The Office of International and Off-Campus Education will report to Associate Provost Mary Roth, and the Center for Community Engagement and the FYS Coordinator will report to me. I thank Erica and Mary for taking on these additional responsibilities, and I am confident that together we – and other administrators – can effectively supervise the various functions and staff members associated with the Dean of the College. The approach outlined above will allow our talented staff and administrative colleagues to take part in the planning discussions for the future.

I know I speak for all of us in thanking Hannah for her dedicated service and wishing her all the best as she begins her position as Professor with a joint appointment in the Department of Government and Law and the Program in International Affairs.

To recognize and thank Hannah for her achievements as Dean of the College, please join me at a reception on Thursday, December 19^th from 3:00 to 5:00 in the lobby of Scott Hall.

Sincerely,
Wendy L. Hill