November 29, 2007
New role for experienced Cauce: A&S dean
Ana Mari Cauce calls her new job as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences neither a move up nor a move down nor a move laterally. “It’s just a different kind of position,” she said. “And it appealed to me. I thought it fit well with my strengths and where my heart is.”
Cauce, who has served as executive vice provost since 2005, was named to the position Nov. 20 by Provost Phyllis Wise. The appointment is subject to approval by the Board of Regents.
Cauce is no stranger to A&S. She has been a part of the college since her arrival at the UW in 1986 as assistant professor of psychology. Since then she has been director of clinical training in the Psychology Department (1990-97), chair of the Department of American Ethnic Studies (1997-2000), director of the Honors Program (2000-02) and chair of the Psychology Department (2002-05). She currently holds the title of Earl R. Carlson professor of psychology in addition to her administrative appointment.
But Cauce says she comes to the deanship as both an insider and an outsider. “I’ve never been a member of the executive team of the college. I have not been a divisional dean, so that makes me a bit of an outsider,” she said. “And I know the arts and humanities less well than I know the sciences and social sciences, because I’ve been a chair in both science and social science. So the question for me is, how do I acquaint myself with the programs I’m not familiar with and reacquaint myself with parts I’m familiar with now that I’m in a different role?”
In answer to that question, Cauce said she would spend her first months in the job doing a lot of listening. “I have the luxury of doing that because the deans before me have left the college in good shape,” she said. “If you had a unit that was falling apart, you’d have to come in and take decisive action right away, but that’s not necessary here.”
Cauce said she would particularly like to talk with students, calling them “a central part of what the college is all about.” She said she wanted to ask students what they see as the strengths and weaknesses of A&S and involve them in goal setting for the future.
Even with her long experience, there will be plenty to learn. The College of Arts and Sciences comprises more than 70 academic departments, centers and programs. It has 940 academic faculty and an annual budget of about $280 million. Of the approximately 7,500 bachelor’s degrees earned at the UW each year, more than 70 percent are from the College of Arts and Sciences. The college offers more than 6,000 classes annually. The college is home to more than two dozen interdisciplinary centers. All of the UW’s arts units are part of A&S, offering each year more than 280 performances, 60 exhibits and 100 lectures and other events.
Because of its size, A&S received special consideration when the Committee to Review the Organization of Schools and Colleges did its work in 2005-2006. Appointed by the provost, the committee was charged with gathering information and ideas about how the organization of the UW could provide the best learning environment for students and most effectively support research, scholarship and creative work. Three of its 11 recommendations involved A&S:
- That there be separate divisional deans for the arts and humanities (currently there is one divisional dean of both arts and humanities).
- That divisional deans be granted more authority, autonomy, resources and responsibility.
- That the dean of A&S become an executive dean and vice provost.
(The full report can be found <a href=http://www.washington.edu/provost/reports/CSOCreport.pdf>here</a>)
Cauce called the report the provost’s report, not the college’s. “Once the decision was made at the provost’s level not to split up the college, any next steps rest within the college. The report has some recommendations that we may want to look at and consider, but if we in A&S want to make major changes in the way we do things, it has to be our process, ” she said.
What she hopes to achieve in the college’s process is to learn what things people really value and cherish about A&S right now and what areas people think may not be working as well. “My hunch is that different people will feel different things, but we’ll find some core that people really cherish and we want to make sure to keep that happening,” Cauce said.
At the same time, she said she is willing to ask the question of whether there are times when the college’s divisions might operate untethered from each other. The answer might not be yes, she said, but she’s open to that possibility.
Although her new position will bring her ever deeper into administrative work, Cauce said she has no intention of giving up her teaching and research, which have continued through all her past administrative positions. A winner of the Distinguished Teaching Award (in 1999), she said she loves teaching and has found time during her stint as executive vice provost to teach in the Summer Transition Program sponsored by the Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity.
“There are some things that give you more energy than they take, and for me teaching is one of those,” Cauce said. “It grounds me and reminds me why I’m here. If worse comes to worst and it becomes the occasional guest lecture, I’ll take it a step at a time, but I do have every intention of teaching.”
She also has a funded research project under way involving 300 to 500 Mexican American families, and is working with a co-PI who will oversee much of the day-to-day operations
By this time next year, Cauce hopes that A&S has a much clearer sense of direction. “Obviously I’d like the college to be an even better place for students,” she said. “I’d also like us to have some sense of what are some themes that bring us together as a research and scholarly unit, some themes that unite us from the arts to the sciences.”
Cauce’s appointment is for five years, but she’s not thinking of moving on. “I would gladly place a very large bet that I’ll still be there after five years,” she said. “And if the college is still interested in my leadership, and it’s doing well, I could easily see it going longer.”
