Academic Restructuring Update Related to Staffing
Dear Colleagues,Last fall, Stew Uretsky and I communicated that we were taking a pause in making any major academic staffing changes to give the Academic Deans a chance to better assess the needs within each school. While the Academic Deans began these assessments, the university also launched a Voluntary Retirement Program (VRP) which affected staffing. We are now able to move forward with developing consistent leadership and staffing practices across the Academy that also meet the unique needs within each school.
I am pleased to share that in collaboration with the Deans and Human Resources team, we’ve created a Director of Administration and Operations position for each of the four new schools. These positions will be critical in strengthening operational leadership and advancing administrative excellence across the schools, in close partnership with the Provost’s Office.
We worked with HR partners on how best to fill these positions as there is significant overlap in some areas between current existing positions and the new Director roles. In the School of Science, Engineering and Technology (SET) and the School of Business and Economics (SBE), current staff members in similar director-level positions could move seamlessly into these positions with little change to their current responsibilities. As a result, Heather Felton and Meredith Robitaille will move into these roles for SET and SBE, respectively.
With no current staff in similar roles in the School of Social Sciences and Social Policy (SSSP) and the School of Arts, Humanities and Culture (AHC), those positions have been posted internally, and we welcome applications from qualified internal candidates who are interested in expanding their leadership scope and contributing at a broader institutional level. Individuals with demonstrated experience in academic administration, financial oversight, people management, and cross-unit collaboration are encouraged to apply. Full position descriptions, including qualifications are available through the Brandeis internal careers portal: Director, SSSP and Director, AHC. The positions will remain open until March 3. If you have questions about the roles or the application process, please contact Melinda Cimino, Senior Talent Specialist at cimino@brandeis.edu.
Since the academic restructure last summer, Christine Kahn has been temporarily reporting directly to me while continuing her responsibilities as Director of Operations and Administration working across the divisions of the former School of A&S units. I have asked her to move permanently to the Provost’s Office as Director of Provost Operations and Administration. This position in the Provost’s Office encompasses much of Christine’s current responsibilities. She will continue to be a central partner working in close collaboration with the new school directors and staff to ensure Academy-wide alignment and consistency, as well as communication, engagement and space planning. She will continue to host regular academy administrative meetings and be a resource for all staff in the academy.
Going forward, the Academic Deans, working with the Directors, will develop staffing plans to support the individual needs of their schools. While each school will work on its own timeline, the Directors will work closely with HR partners and the Provost’s office to ensure consistency across the Academy.
I look forward to sharing further updates on the search for the AHC and SSSP directors and on other plans as they progress.
Sincerely,
Carol A. Fierke, Ph.D. '84
Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs
