Executive Dean of SAS Doug Greenberg Steps Down

June 27, 2012

Members of the Rutgers Community:

We are writing to announce that School of Arts and Sciences (SAS) Executive Dean Douglas Greenberg has resigned, effective June 30, 2012. Dean Greenberg plans to complete several long-term scholarly projects while on leave during the next academic year, after which time he will return to the faculty.

Dean Greenberg took the helm at SAS in August 2008, becoming the first dean of the largest academic unit in the university following completion of the Transformation of Undergraduate Education, which brought together the students of the university’s several undergraduate colleges in New Brunswick/Piscataway into a more coherent School of Arts and Sciences.

As dean, Dr. Greenberg was instrumental in the establishment of the SAS Core Curriculum, a revitalized Honors Program, and the innovative SAS Signature Courses, which next year will enroll more than 5,000 students.

In addition to those advancements in undergraduate education, Dean Greenberg also worked to build and strengthen SAS’s graduate programs, some of which rank among the top in the nation, bringing millions of dollars in new Mellon Foundation funds to programs in the humanities and social sciences, and building research capacity in the physical and biological sciences. Excellent faculty hires were made in all areas of the school, adding significant strength to both the research and teaching missions of SAS. Of particular note is the Caribbean Studies Initiative, which has brought a core of brilliant new faculty members in the humanities and social sciences to the school. Finally, Doug led the process to develop an SAS Strategic Plan, which will guide the future growth and development of the school, and made signal advances in both fundraising and community outreach. Other accomplishments under Dean Greenberg’s leadership include creation of the SAS Dean’s Advisory Council; establishment of the Dean’s Emergency Fund, which has permitted hundreds of students to complete their studies in a time of economic crisis; commitment to diversity hiring for faculty across the disciplines; and creation of the Brain Health Institute along with the solicitation of a gift to endow a chair in the institute.

A 1969 graduate of Rutgers College with highest distinction in history, Dr. Greenberg earned his M.A. and Ph.D. in history at Cornell University. He has written extensively on the history of early America and American law, and on technology, scholarship, and libraries. He also lectures widely and writes about the Holocaust, comparative genocide, and Jewish identity in the post-Holocaust United States. Before coming to Rutgers he served in faculty posts at Lawrence University, Princeton University, and the University of Southern California. He also served as associate dean of the faculty at Princeton, as vice president of the American Council of Learned Societies, and as CEO of the Chicago Historical Society and Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation.

Please join us in wishing Dean Greenberg well as he returns to his roots in historical research, writing, and teaching. Within the next few days we will announce the appointment of an acting dean of SAS and will begin to develop plans for a national search to fill the position on a permanent basis.

Sincerely yours,

Richard L. McCormick
President

Richard L. Edwards
Interim Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs