Date: May 27, 2021
TO: The FAS Community
FROM: Andrew Hamilton, President; Katherine Fleming, Provost; and Antonio Merlo, FAS Dean

Over the past four years, the College has been expertly guided by Gene Jarrett’s skilled hands. Valued for his commitment to undergraduate education, his thoughtfulness as a scholar and dean, and his warmth and good humor as a colleague, he has been a wonderful Dean of the College of Arts and Science.

His talents and accomplishments, so evident to us, were bound to be recognized beyond NYU’s walls. So, it was perhaps not a surprise, sorry though we were, when he informed us that Princeton University had offered him the position of Dean of the Faculty and a faculty appointment as William S. Tod Professor of English, effective August 1st. It is a wonderful opportunity, and notwithstanding his departure from our midst, we are happy and proud of him.

Since he arrived, he has emphasized academic excellence, social diversity, and curricular innovation in the College. He provided innovative leadership for setting academic standards and policies; updating current and developing new academic programs; and fundraising to improve the access and affordability of higher education.

He was a principal author of NYU’s first Association of American Universities (AAU) grant, won in 2019, for “Excellence in Undergraduate Laboratory Sciences Instruction by Design,” a two-year effort to pilot and evaluate new techniques for STEM teaching, particularly laboratory science instruction. He created a baccalaureate degree in Data Science at NYU in partnership with the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences and the Center for Data Science. He also cemented post-baccalaureate admissions and financial aid pathways for CAS juniors and seniors interested in attending the NYU Stern Graduate School of Business and the NYU School of Law.

Within CAS, Gene concentrated on strengthening faculty leadership over the CAS curriculum, including the Expository Writing Program, general education, curricular initiatives and innovation, undergraduate research and honors, and the Women in Science program. He launched the first major faculty revision in a quarter of a century of the CAS Core Curriculum. He also established the Technology-Enhanced Education Committee, in which faculty collaborate to set the academic standards, guidelines, and learning outcomes for online and hybrid education.

Mindful of the importance of the undergraduate student experience, he created a council to develop practical solutions for advancing justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion; led strategic planning for improving student success, the mentorship of students, and academic advising; and inaugurated Declaration Day, a celebration of the pivotal moment when students declare their academic major.

We are fortunate in one regard: CAS will have excellent, highly experienced interim leadership to ensure its continued academic trajectory. We are pleased to report that Matthew Santirocco, Dean of the College for 17 years until stepping down in 2011, has agreed to serve as Interim Dean until Gene’s successor is selected. The College thrived under Matthew’s leadership. A professor of classics, the Angelo J. Ranieri Director of Ancient Studies at NYU, a highly esteemed scholar, and a much admired University citizen, he subsequently served as Sr. Vice Provost for Academic Affairs and most recently as Faculty Director of our NYU-Washington DC site. We are confident that CAS will be in outstanding hands with Matthew as Interim Dean.

For now, we would ask you to please join us in thanking Gene for all his hard work on behalf of CAS students, faculty, administrators, and staff, and in congratulating him on his new appointment.